NEIGHBOURS are despairing over drunks falling out of a homeless hostel into roads and urinating on bus stop seats.

A lawyer living in Rivercourt Road, Hammersmith has told of her anguish about guests from The Old Theatre hostel in Rivercourt Methodist Church being so incapacitated by alcohol they are disrupting the quiet residential street and scaring children walking to and from school.

The 12 studio flat hostel is run by homeless people's charity, Broadway, on behalf of Hammersmith and Fulham Council, and caters for rough sleepers with complex needs, including drug and alcohol abuse and mental illnesses. Drinking alcohol is allowed at the hostel as they would rather get people off the streets into a safe, secure environment in order to help them.

Audrey Frisby, of Rivercourt Road, said: “There've been lots of kerfuffles with drunk people from the hostel. They have to call out the police and ambulance twice a day sometimes, which is horrendous because there may be other people in real need of the emergency services.

“They urinate and sometimes even defecate in the street and there've been several occasions where people from the hostel have just walked into the road without looking and really scared people in their cars who've almost hit them.

“There's a nursery at the bottom of the church and quite a few schools nearby; you see kids looking scared and having to cross the road to get around the drunks.

“We understand homeless people need to be helped but why should this part of Hammersmith, with lots of schools, businesses and residents, have to take on London's drunks.”

David Fisher, director of services at Broadway, said being a good neighbour and a positive part of the community is very important to the charity. He said: “Our services are about addressing problems on behalf of the community and helping people in the communities where we work. Incidents of anti-social behaviour from our residents can occasionally happen and when they do, we take rapid and robust action, which can mean involving the police and eviction from our services.

“Our staff carry out regular locality patrols and proactively make contact with local businesses and residents. We are committed to working with the local community, the police and the local authority to make sure the area is effectively managed and nuisance is minimised.

“People living in our hostels may have a range of vulnerabilities, including addiction and mental health problems, but we do expect them to respect their neighbours and comply with our service rules. Our aim is to help clients on their journey from street to home and that includes being a positive member of the community they live in.”

Greg Smith, the council's deputy leader, emphasised that law-abiding residents have a right to live in peace and quiet and even though some of the residents of this hostel have complex needs, there is absolutely no excuse for behaving anti-socially and inconsiderately.

He added: “The council takes all allegations of anti-social behaviour incredibly seriously, and will report any conduct that breaks the law to the police immediately. We have already discussed this matter with Broadway, who provide this service on our behalf, and the police to ensure that antisocial behaviour is tackled swiftly and effectively.”