Pensioner, 80, left feeling trapped in Dalkeith flat amid 'nightmare' anti-social behaviour

An 80-year-old woman has been left "trapped" in her home and unable to sell her property due to rampant anti-social behaviour in a Midlothian town, her daughter has said.

Penny Wilson has lived on Eskdail Street in Dalkeith for 20 years, but is facing a daily onslaught of drug use, littering and the communal stairwell being used as a "human toilet".

Her daughter, Suzie Wilson, said youths frequently gather in the stairwell and climb onto the roof, leaving her mother intimidated and terrified.

It has left Penny “scared to be in her own home,” according to Suzie.

“It’s just a nightmare that you can’t wake up from,” she said. “It’s constant, it’s every day, it’s every night. The kids are gathering in the stair and they’re making a mess.

“The stair door seems to be the main issue. They come in and they can climb up on the roof and they’re running about. The other side of my mum’s roof is a drop down onto Dalkeith High Street, they wouldn’t survive that. And it’s going to take something like that to happen for them to do something. It never ends.”

Youths destroyed a seating area in Dalkeith town centre in what is being described as an ongoing issue | Supplied

Penny put her property up for sale, hoping to leave the area, but was forced to withdraw the property from the market when she received feedback from prospective buyers that the area surrounding it was “a mess” - including dog waste in the stairwell.

Suzie said: “I know mums like a moan but it’s been going on for so long, it’s crazy. Now she feels completely trapped because she can’t sell the house. The feedback was ‘the house is beautiful, the surrounding area just looks horrible. The stairs look horrible.”

She said she has written to Midlothian councillors asking for anti-vandal paint and for repairs to be undertaken to the door entry system, but work has not been carried out.

Suzie said that whilst her mum is active, she feels intimidated as she has to pass through large groups of youths who have congregated in the stairwell.

She explained: “She’s having to go through 10 children to get home and the lights aren’t working, and then you’re standing in someone else’s dog’s dirt, dragging it through your own house. It’s cracking me up, it’s cracking my mum up. It’s too much. You can handle one or two things, but this is too much.”

Last month, it was reported that council tenants in Midlothian could face eviction if their children are caught taking part in anti-social behaviour across the county. Deputy Midlothian Council Leader Colin Cassidy, who represents Dalkeith, said that the town had become like the “wild west”.

Penny Wilson lives in a street blighted by anti-social behaviour | Google Maps

Police and council officials met to discuss the proposed new measures that could be written into tenancy agreements - including a clause regarding anti-social behaviour.

Speaking last week, Cllr Cassidy said: “If your kid is identified and you live in council property, you're going to get a knock on the door to tell you're effectively getting an ASBO, which could lead to eviction.

“That’s the lengths we’re having to go to because we need to protect the public.”

Last week, Midlothian Council Leader Councillor Kelly Parry issued a warning that anti-social behaviour in Dalkeith town centre will “not be tolerated” and said that the council and Police Scotland would continue to work together after reports of fire setting, vandalism and disorder involving groups of young people, with incidents escalating during the recent warm weather.

Some of the mess left inside the communal stair. | Submitted

Councillor Parry said: “Recent behaviour in Dalkeith town centre is completely unacceptable. These actions are causing damage to property, putting people at risk and placing an unnecessary cost on our communities. Everyone has the right to feel safe in their town centre.

“We are working closely with Police Scotland to address this, and those responsible should be aware that they will be identified. CCTV is being used by the council to assist investigations and anyone found to be involved will face consequences, including action that could put their housing tenancy at risk.”

Police Scotland said they were aware of residents' concerns relating to anti-social behaviour and indicated that patrols are being carried out as a deterrent.

Chief Inspector Gordon Couper added: “We continue to work with partners to educate young people but anyone conducting themselves in a disorderly fashion will be dealt with robustly. Parents and guardians also have a role to play, and I would ask them to make sure they know where young people are and what they are doing.

“Anyone with information or concerns about anti-social behaviour should contact us on 101 or make a call anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.”

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For Suzie, she said she needs to know that her mum is safe, she said she “hates” her mum living there.

She said: “I just want to know she’s safe in her own home instead of getting phone calls that she was woken up at 4am because they were all running about the roofs.

“I’m terrified that it’s going to end up too much, because I can see how stressed she actually is.”