Machete found in police crackdown on Blackpool properties

A tenant who made his neighbours' lives a misery has been evicted after police found weapons including a machete and a baseball bat in his flat.
The boarded up property on Chesterfield RoadThe boarded up property on Chesterfield Road
The boarded up property on Chesterfield Road

Blackpool Council’s housing enforcement team obtained a closure order for a property on Chesterfield Road after a court heard a 28-year-old man had repeatedly intimidated other residents.

The action was part of a week of police and council enforcement around properties in Claremont aimed at tackling a wide range of criminal activity including drug dealing and anti-social behaviour.

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The council said the man had up to 50 visitors over a three day period going to the rear of the house and then leaving minutes later.

The property has been boarded up and will remain closed for three months.

Blackpool Council said the landlord’s managing agent did not oppose the order after witnessing first hand aggressive behaviour from the tenant.

Over the week 21 properties were targeted using powers including four closure orders, and seven community protection warnings ordering people to stop yobbish behaviour or risk further police action.

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Inspector David Wilson, of Blackpool Police, said: “This week of action is only the beginning of efforts to combat drug dealing and anti-social behaviour around Claremont, and to reassure the wider community we are listening to their concerns.

“This sort of behaviour destroys lives and we will be relentless in our efforts to tackle it.

“We are reliant on the help of the community to combat the scourge of drug dealing, and I would encourage anyone with any information regarding such activity to have the confidence to tell us, knowing we will take action.”

Council deputy leader Coun Gillian Campbell said: “We have different sets of powers, working together enables us to maximise the impact we can have.”

The action also found 10 cases of licence condition breaches, and led to an abduction order restricting contact between an adult and a vulnerable young person.