Woolston mum speaks of 'vile' estate 'full of drug addicts'

Brenda Early said for the last year, shady characters have been ringing the doorbell of her ground-floor flat in Wharncliffe House at all hours of the night to be let into the building.

When the 42-year-old ignores them, they then kick her door once they finally get inside, leaving her feeling intimidated.

She is now desperate to move from the Woolston estate but is stuck in limbo as they wait for another council flat to become available, and she claims the police have not taken their concerns seriously.

Her daughter Lilly May-Early has shared the studio flat with her mum for three years and said she had seen people taking Class A drugs while waiting for a bus: “We wouldn’t mind if they didn’t have any trouble.

"If they didn’t bother anyone else, then it wouldn’t be an issue. I would have thought they would take drugs away from everyone else but they do it in plain sight.

“I will be walking to a bus stop and see them doing, crack, heroin or weed right in front of people.”

The 19-year-old added: "This is the worst estate I have ever lived in my life, and I have lived all over Southampton."

Brenda has lived at Wharncliffe House for seven years but in the last year, she has seen a surge in drug-taking in the estate.

Having reported the issues to the police, the pair said very little has been done and the force tells them to report it to the city council’s housing team.

The estate near Wharncliffe House in Southampton (Image: Newsquest, Jose Ramos)

Brenda explained the estate was not always like this: “When I first moved in it was quiet, there wasn’t much trouble but at the end of 2022 it started to get really bad.”

On one occasion, the mum refused to open the door to the block of flats to a woman after she had buzzed for the door to be opened at 5am, but after she got into the building she started kicking Brenda’s door.

“If you don’t answer the door they boot your front door," she said.

She said she is fearful of speaking to the drug users, saying: "I don't know what they would do, you can speak to them and a knife may end up in you. So obviously I don't want to speak to them."

As a result of this, the mum and daughter are now looking to move from what Brenda described as a ‘vile’ estate ‘full of drug addicts’.

“If I knew what I know now, I wouldn’t live here,” Brenda added.

A spokesperson for Southampton City Council said: “We are committed to tackling anti-social behaviour and making local communities safer.

"By working closely with partners through the Safe City Partnership Action Group, which works across the city’s four police sectors to provide local multi-agency problem solving capacity, we can focus on reducing crime and anti-social behaviour.

"Residents are encouraged to report instances of anti-social behaviour by contacting their Local Housing Office in the first instance.”

PC Matt Dowding, from Hampshire Police, said: "We are aware of increased reports of anti-social behaviour in the Wharncliffe Road area and have been addressing this in a number of ways. Officers from our neighbourhood policing teams and neighbourhood enforcement team have been patrolling the area at differing times of the day and night, with various enforcement tactics in place to deal with those involved.

“We have been working together with our own dedicated anti-social behaviour officers, Southampton City Council and the housing team in order to find a longer term solution to the reports we’re getting. We’ve been discussing the issue in our monthly PACT meetings, which brings members of the community and local agencies together to discuss ongoing issues and how we can better serve the community. The next meeting is on April 18 at Merryoak Community Centre at 6pm and we welcome all residents to come and speak to us about any issues they may be facing within their area.

“We also encourage people to take part in our new community survey that aims to understand the needs of residents and enables people to share any concerns with their local officers – we are currently gathering responses online and via speaking to people directly on the streets in order to understand what they key issues are for our communities and take action. We encourage people to complete the survey by visiting https://survey.hampshirealert.co.uk/”