COUNCIL bosses have gone to court to evict a 98-year-old woman who is causing misery for her elderly neighbours.

Legal proceedings were launched against Mary Plaisted in a bid to bring peace to a sheltered housing block after ten years of complaints.

Southampton City Council wants a judge to rule she has breached the terms of her tenancy at her £65 a week flat.

They have cited a catalogue of antisocial behaviour, including:

■ Assaulting council staff and carers by hitting them with her walking stick, and punching and throwing things at them.
■ Repeatedly banging on residents’ cars and windows with her stick demanding attention
■ Calling emergency services for no valid reason – including 264 calls to police in two years
■ Diverting social services resources by pressing a community alarm service 563 times in one month.
■ Using obscene language towards council staff and carers, many of whom refused to visit after being accused of theft.

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The council says emergency services now only visit in pairs “due to the risk of assault”.

The Daily Echo previously revealed how her telephone and emergency call button were both cut off because of her unnecessary calls.

Mrs Plaisted repeatedly demands attention at all hours from residents and passers-by crying: “999... come at once, it’s an emergency.”

Residents told how she had been “an absolute nightmare”.

Setting out its case the council said her “distressing behaviour” was having a “detrimental effect upon the health of those residents and all efforts to engage with her have failed.”

The council claims she doesn’t suffer from any form of mental illness but may have a “borderline personality disorder.”

Mrs Plaisted told the Echo she only called for help when needed and had “tapped” on a neighbour’s window once.

She insisted: “I’ve done nothing wrong. There is nowhere for me to go.”

Her son Nigel Plaisted, 65, who lives in Somerset, said his “belligerent” mother has refused to move into a care home.

He said he backed the council’s eviction bid.

The court hearing, which was held in private, was adjourned. The council declined to comment.