Woman critisises housing manager after attempted break-in at block of flats

A woman who lives in the basement of a block of flats with her nine-year-old daughter claims the council “does not care” about their safety after saying someone tried to break into the empty flat next door.

Anne-Marie Dean, 34, lives in a one-bedroom Lewisham Homes property with her daughter, Ariyah Jackson, in Arbuthnot Road, New Cross Gate.

Last Thursday she said she heard people trying to break into the empty flat next door.

She said: “I was lying in bed at around 10.45pm when I heard voices and the communal door rattling.

“I thought someone had moved in so I had a look out my window and could make out two people.

“I herd a woman’s voice say ‘It looks very spacious in there,’ and then I could hear the window shaking.

“Then I looked out of the window and it startled them. They didn’t expect anyone to be there.”

Ms Dean said two days later her neighbour came to tell her that he had seen some people downstairs and it looked like they had been trying to get into the flat.

She said: “The safety of myself and my daughter has never been a concern for anyone in Lewisham Homes regardless of how many times I reiterate how unsafe we feel down in the basement with barely any lighting.”

Ms Dean was recently using the council’s noise app to document the noise disturbances, but says she was sent a message to say that she was not a Lewisham Homes tenant and her complaint was closed.

She said: “I have lived here since 2011, before Lewisham Homes came into effect. I have paid Lewisham Homes rent for years so I am confused as to how they do not know the properties they manage.”

Ms Dean and her daughter had been moved into a temporary accommodation hostel in Sydenham Park Mansions by Lewisham Homes earlier this year because of a severe mouse infestation in Arbuthnot Road.

On March 31, while staying in the temporary accommodation, someone tried to break into the flat while Ms Dean and her daughter were inside.

On May 4, Ms Dean and her daughter were moved back to Arbuthnot Road but still found mice in the property.

She said: “We are confined in a self-contained bedsit with one bedroom in which my daughter shares a bed with me and has done so since birth.

“Myself and my daughter are no longer able to share a bed.

“It’s cramped, uncomfortable, numerous nights of no sleep.”

Miss Dean moved into Lewisham Homes accommodation in 2011, and claims that since 2013 she has complained to the council about damp, mould, security issues, loose wiring and daily antisocial behaviour by other tenants.

A spokesman for Lewisham Homes said: “Ms Dean has been in touch with us by email and we are responding to her directly.

“We can confirm Ms Dean is a Lewisham Homes tenant. We apologise she was told she was not, and we are investigating how this happened.

“Ms Dean was temporarily moved into temporary accommodation to allow for works to be completed to her home.

“These included proofing works and pest control treatment. Ms Dean was moved back to the property once it was habitable again.

“The property above Ms Dean’s was empty for a period of time, after the previous tenant moved out, to enable repairs to be carried out. We can confirm the property was let to new tenants on July 27.”

Pictured top: Anne-Marie Dean and her daughter Ariyah Jackson (Picture: Anne-Marie Dean)