Residents and shop owners on Harrow View in Harrow say their lives were made a misery by antisocial behaviour after a gang of youths was housed in a council property in the road.
Harrow Council housed a group of 'vulnerable young people' at 189 Harrow View in January this year, and neighbours and busness owners in the area claim this led to them suffering five months of issues such as alleged vandalism and drug taking.
A number of complaints were made by residents and shop owners including a bin being set on fires and people jumping on top of a car.
The youths were not supposed to be living in the property were moved out of Harrow View by the council on May 20, and a 24-hour care worker now resides in the four bedroom property.
Residents and shop owners believed that the house was being used by Harrow Council as a bail hostel - where individuals accused of offences were housed while waiting for court appearances - however, this is something that the council has vigorously denied.
Rita Patel, who owns the Headstone News shop, suffered first hand from the alleged antics which led to her car being dented when a group jumped on its roof.
She said: "They came into the back yard of the property and started jumping on my car.
"They broke the window wipers and they dented the roof but the man from the motorcycle shop helped to fix the roof.
"There have been no problems in the shop, thankfully, but it is mine and my daughter's vehicles that concern me."
Nadir Sari at Harrow Motorcycles said he wasn't affected as much but things had seemed to quieten down since the occupants of the house had been moved on.
He added: "It is better now things have been dealt with, although they didn't affect me as much as I had no direct problems.
"I appreciate the help from the council and the police who have been very helpful.
"To avoid this happening again it must be dealt with this time as these underage youths have no respect."
A Harrow Council spokesperson said: "Claims that this property is a bail house are completely untrue. Since January this year this property has been used to house some of our most vulnerable young people.
"As soon as we were alerted of the issues, we carried out checks resulting in a number of actions. The occupants have now been moved to alternative accommodation away from the area.
“Protecting the most vulnerable is always a priority for the council. We take all allegations of anti-social behaviour seriously and are proud of our status as one of London’s safest borough.
“We will continue to work with the police to monitor activity in the area and encourage local residents and businesses to report any concerns so that appropriate action can be taken."
Although the residents of the Harrow View property have been moved on by the council , shop owners claim a new group has now started using the area, leading to yet more anti-social behaviour issues.
Alkesh Dessai, of Desons Pharmacy, said: "A new gang from a different area with older individuals have now moved into the area.
"They are harassing customers and are generally being wild. The council needs to take strict action in any area."
Sergeant Simon Fretwell, of the Marlborough Safer Neighbourhood Team, said: From the outset we have worked closely with our partners from Harrow Council and the traders in Harrow View road.
"Ant-social behaviour has dramatically reduced since the long term solution plan was put in place by Marlborough Safer Neighbourhood Team and Harrow council.
"By visiting the address in partnership we have acted on public information to gain a warrant and investigate crime.
"I am happy to to say that the venue and area has been improved and we are still taking our patrols in partnership with Headstone safer neighbourhood team."
