THEY made life a “living hell” for their neighbours for two years – and now they could be living next to you.

Beleaguered residents faced constant verbal abuse, noise nuisance and littering from a problem family living on their Hampshire street, a court was told.

Now the seven children and their mother – who is pregnant with an eighth child – have been moved from Hedge End to live among another community in the county.

Police applied for a rarely-used court power to “close” the privatelyowned home they rented.

However, because of a court gagging order, the Daily Echo is effectively banned from naming the family or revealing where they now live.

Magistrates prevented them from being identified after their lawyer made a special representation in court.

One neighbour has described how eggs were thrown at houses, rubbish – including vegetables and bread – were thrown into gardens and how they were woken regularly in the middle of the night by a barking dog.

Police say catapults were used to smash windows and that the impact of their behaviour was like a “slow dripping”

for other residents.

“I would definitely never have expected to encounter anything like this,” said one neighbour.

“I have never seen anything like it in my life and when I see things in the paper about antisocial behaviour a lot of it is not as bad as what we went though as a group. It was a living hell.

“The police were absolutely fantastic.

We always felt like they were looking out for us.

“It was very unpleasant and a very unhappy time.

“None of us have been able to sit in our gardens for a couple of summers because of their behaviour.”

Another resident, who lives nearby, said the family should not be protected and have their name withheld. He added that their new neighbours should have the right to know who is moving in next door.

“I think it’s only fair that the new neighbours should know who is moving in next door – especially in these circumstances.”

Two sergeants and two other officers spent four months specifically dealing with issues concerning the family.

Police had a 24-hour presence in the area as complaints mounted.

Tens of thousands of pounds of taxpayers’ money is thought to have been spent as agencies joined forces to ensure the family was safely rehoused.

Eventually, police succeeded in a legal bid to Southampton magistrates which effectively gave them the right to close the semi-detached property under the Anti Social Behaviour Act 2003.

Police have stressed that the health and welfare of the family have been looked after during the saga while all of the children have been placed in schools.

Acting only in the last resort

POLICE say they used section 11 of the Anti Social Behaviour Act 2003 to close the house down.

It was introduced as a means to provide “immediate respite” for residents troubled by antisocial behaviour – but legal guidelines say the action should only be used as a last resort. The Act can be utilised in relation to any type of premises where there is persistent and serious nuisance or disorder. Nobody is allowed inside the property for three months regardless of whether it is privately owned.