98-year-old 'neighbour from hell' evicted

A 98-year-old woman became one of the oldest people in Britain to be evicted from her home after being branded "the neighbour from hell".

A judge told Mary Plaisted she had 28 days to leave the sheltered housing flat in Southampton where she has lived for 28 years.

Southampton City Council took the court action after Mrs Plaisted made the lives of her neighbours a misery for years from her £65-a week ground floor accommodation in the Lordshill area of the city.

The pensioner, who denies she has been a problem, is alleged to have assaulted carers and council staff and harassed neighbours by banging on their windows.

She was also accused of using her panic alarm 563 times in a month, and making 264 calls to police over the last two years.

District Judge Robert Naylor approved the council's application for an eviction order at a hearing at the city's county court yesterday.

Council spokesman Nick Cross said: "It is very regrettable when any action is taken by the council to repossess a property, particularly when the individual is very elderly.

"However, the council is left with no alternative when anti-social behaviour by one tenant leads to other residents' lives being made a misery.

"In such cases we will act for the due regard of other tenants while balancing this with the need to act responsibly for the needs of the individual.

"This has been a particularly difficult case and we will now progress this with sensitivity and in line with the council's housing responsibility.

"We have a number of options as to what we can do next and we will be discussing these with Mrs Plaisted."

Speaking to the Southern Daily Echo, Mrs Plaisted said: "I didn't attack anybody, and I've only asked for help when I've needed it.

"I haven't done anything wrong that I'm aware of and I don't know why they're after me. I can't understand it.

"I'm very worried because I don't know what I'll do. I've got nowhere to go."