Hellish London ‘city village’ with ‘six-year-old drug users’ and ‘spit on walls’
Don’t miss a thing! Sign up to the Daily Star’s newsletter
We have more newsletters
Residents of a North London "city village" have blasted their accommodation, calling it "absolutely disgusting".
Avalon Mansions, between Hornsey and Wood Green, was opened in late 2021 by London and Quadrant (L&Q) on the site of an old gas works, and inhabitants were promised a safe environment, well-maintained communal spaces and quick repairs.
But a year-and-a-half later, those who live in the modern development say these promises haven't been met and claim kids take drugs in their stairwells, their fire alarms don't work, and they don't feel safe, MyLondon reports.
READ MORE: Woman claiming to be Madeleine McCann 'reduces lady to tears' ahead of DNA results
Vicky*, a mum who escaped an abusive relationship to live in the Mansions, says the place was once "beautiful" but that now she has to live side by side with "crackheads and drug dealers".
"I was the second or third person to move in here and it was the most beautiful place, but then the riff-raff moved in, the drug dealer came, they got rid of him, then the crackhead," she lamented.
"Spit on the walls – it’s nasty and absolutely disgusting."
Dawn*, another survivor of domestic abuse, also lives in the block. She said after six months of living there she didn't have working fire alarms as they had been removed, leaving wires exposed and dangling from the ceiling.
The London Fire Brigade visited the property and warned her that the alarms hadn't been installed properly – but she says L&Q have done nothing to alleviate the problem.
'Giggling' perv jailed after he's caught bonking horse 'with trousers at his ankles'
"It’s basically a death waiting to happen. If a fire goes on in my house, me and my son are dead," she said.
L&Q sent a message to residents of the block on Friday (March 17) saying they realised the fire alarm system was "not fully functional" and put in a Waking Watch to patrol the building constantly in case of fire.
They added the London Fire Brigade had been notified and the evacuation strategy was to "stay put".
Dawn has also witnessed her fair share of crime at Avalon Mansions – she believes pimps operate out of some of the flats and said she has seen kids as young as six doing drugs in her building.
"One day there were children, a six-year-old boy with balloons on the stairs, kids taking enough drugs to knock out a horse. They just came from the street to take drugs in here. The balloon was bigger than his face," she said.
There are 58 flats in the property, so residents know they won't necessarily get along with all their neighbours all the time, but think L&Q could take more action to improve their living situations.
Abdul Arush, 38, told MyLondon: "The problem is they fix things and then people break it. I understand from [L&Q's] point of view when it’s broken again, but there are consequences for us tenants."
David Lewis, Executive Group Director of Property Services at L&Q, said: "We take the safety and security of our residents extremely seriously. We thank residents for raising their concerns with us, and we have identified some improvements to fire safety that we are carrying out urgently.
"In the meantime, we have introduced security at Avalon Mansions including a Waking Watch to ensure the safety of our customers.
"Unfortunately when repairs are required to lifts and fire doors it can sometimes take time to source parts and carry out repairs, and we appreciate this sometimes leads to inconvenience for residents. We apologise for these delays and thank our residents for their patience and understanding. We aim to complete all repairs as quickly as we can, but where doors are not secured or there are access issues, we treat these as urgent.
"With regards to the other issues raised, our local team is working closely with residents to complete any outstanding repairs and respond to any improvements we can make to our service."
*Names have been changed.
To get more stories from Daily Star delivered straight to your inbox sign up to one of our free newsletters here.
READ NEXT:
Killer cut out woman's heart and tried to feed it to relatives after mistaken release
Woman claiming to be Madeleine McCann 'threatened with legal action to shut up'
Man killed by tribe he tried to convert to Christianity sent letter before death
Once-thriving UK shopping centre now a guarded compound with dogs and spiked fence
- London
- Property
- Crime
- Drugs
Source: Read Full Article