Residents 'petrified' after security door removal

Tenants of a block of council flats have said that they have felt "petrified" of anti-social behaviour since security doors were removed from communal corridors.

Tony Downing, a Sheffield city councillor, said the doors were taken away from the Westfield complex on Short Brook Drive in Mosborough at the end of last year because of the excessive cost of repairs following vandalism.

As a result, one resident said teenagers now roamed freely through the building "intimidating residents".

Sheffield City Council said affected residents were consulted about the trial and given a six-week period to offer feedback.

"All residents on the initial blocks were consulted and no opposition was received," a spokesperson said.

The decision to remove the security doors came from a recommendation by Sheffield City Council housing officers.

According to Mr Downing, he and the other local councillors "reluctantly" agreed to the measure on the understanding that it would be a "trial".

"I personally wasn't happy about it. It is our job to protect the public but we do also have to take into consideration the cost of daily repairs," he said.

Speaking to the BBC, an anonymous resident who has been living in the block for nine years said he was "ashamed" to bring his children to visit and "too scared" to let them outside the flat in the evening.

"The security door to enter my block is broken. Kids ripped the magnets and metal plates off.

"The rest of the doors have been taken out so they just come off the street banging on windows. They smoke drugs in the stairwell.

"We've had blood on the walls, rubbish everywhere. It's a horrible place to live."

Sheffield South East MP Clive Betts said he had visited the Westfield flats and found the decision to remove the doors "baffling".

"Our councillors need to be advocating for us, not agreeing to measures that will make areas less safe and encourage arson and anti-social behaviour," he said.

As well as security concerns, the resident highlighted ongoing issues with the state of the building.

"The flats are crumbling. They could do with taking them down really and starting again," he said.

"There's mould everywhere on the ceiling; it seeps into properties through the cracks at the frames.

"There are exposed wires along the landing. It's just not safe."

Discussing the door removals, a council spokesperson said: "The reason for this decision was to trial whether or not this would reduce anti-social behaviour, fire risk and repeat repair costs.

"The intended benefits of removing the doors was to open sight lines so youths were visible, as a deterrent to nuisance behaviour."

The council said "numerous" maintenance projects on the flats are "currently taking place or due to take place", including drainage repairs, replastering and roof repairs.

South Yorkshire Police has been approached for a comment.

Listen to highlights from South Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North or tell us a story you think we should be covering here.