A Feltham resident was left bleeding and with a broken tooth after he confronted a gang of youths who were loitering in the hallway outside his flat.

Buddleia House resident Phil Pearson, 52, suffered the consequences of standing up to the troublemakers on Tuesday (July 31).

And fellow residents who live in the town centre block say it's typical of the way gangs of youths hang around in the stairwells, smoking, drinking, making noise and sometimes resorting to violence.

His wife Natasha told getwestlondon: "They were in the lobby and Phil went out to them to ask them to leave.

"Then they went upstairs to the fourth floor and another resident came and asked Phil if he would get them to leave. He escorted them down the stairs, but as they were leaving, one of them just turned around and punched him.

Phil Pearson was punched by a youth outside his flat

"I think it's shocking and what makes it worse is that we're powerless to do anything about it. They can just come in and what can we do about it?”

Residents have questioned why A2 Dominion, the firm which manages several blocks of flats on behalf of Hounslow Council , has not done more to improve building security and prevent gangs of youths from entering through the often broken security doors.

"A2 were quite good when we first moved here ten years ago, but more recently its got worse,” said Natasha. “Both the security doors are broken at the moment and there's a fire escape where they can get in from the outside.

"It makes you feel nervous like you've constantly got to watch yourself as you don't know if someone's going to be lurking about.

"My daughter was around when (the attack) happened and she was scared and said she didn't want to stay at the flat because she didn't feel safe."

In the block in question, most of the tenants are professional people who own or part own their flats.

In a nearby block run by Hounslow Council another woman said: "I hate it here. There are drug dealers dealing out of some of the houses around and it leads to all sorts of problems. We get noise at night, people hanging around and people taking drugs. It's just horrible. You shouldn't have to live like this."

Feltham and Heston MP Seema Malhotra has written to A2 Dominion demanding immediate action.

"Despite repeated warnings and requests to A2 Dominion to take some action it would appear that the seeming delay or neglect on your part has led to an incident this week in which a resident was physically assaulted and injured,” she wrote.

"This incident is now a police matter but the underlying issue of the security of the block, the speed and effectiveness of repairs and the quality of the products you use still remains."

PC Jody Whitehouse, who is the dedicated ward officer for Feltham West Neighbourhood Policing Team, said it's vital that residents report incidents of anti-social behaviour to her directly - as soon as they happen - as this enables officers to deal with it quickly.

She said her team is working closely with the residents and housing associations in the area to resolve any problems and has set up extra patrols in recent days. The team's contact details are available in all the flats.

Steve Michaux, director of residential services at A2 Dominion, said: "We take reports of anti-social behaviour (ASB) very seriously, and we are doing everything we can to respond to the issues at Buddleia House.

“We are aware both external doors have been vandalised and we are replacing them with a more secure door to reduce the likelihood of vandalism and trespassing.

One of the blocks of flats where residents have reported problems with anti-social behaviour

“We also encourage our residents to report all criminal matters, such as substance abuse or trespassing, to the police. We will be working with local police to tackle these issues and inviting them to attend our residents’ meeting in September to discuss antisocial behavior and how, and to whom, to report it.

“We will continue to communicate regularly with our residents to help resolve antisocial behavior issues as quickly as possible.”

Hounslow Council leader Steve Curran added: "We're obviously very concerned to learn of the problems residents are facing and councillors are more than happy to work with residents and A2 Dominion to ensure that security is improved in the flats and communal areas and we will be asking our police teams in the area to help out."

Do you live in a block of flats affected by similar issues? Do you pay a hefty service charge to your management company and are wondering what it gets spent on?

Let us know your story by emailing martin.elvery@reachplc.com