Southampton tower blocks residents fed up with drugs and broken lifts

People living at Dumbleton Towers in Thornhill and Millbrook Towers say antisocial behaviour is making their life a "nightmare".

They complain of people using drugs in communal areas and lifts that often break down and take weeks to fix.

Southampton City Council has apologised and said it is committed to tackling the issues.

Dumbleton Tower on Warburton Road (Image: Newsquest)

READ MORE: 'Urine' on the stairs, maggots and broken lifts - Welcome to Millbrook Towers'

Clare Jones lives with her five-year-old son in Dumbleton Towers and says groups of teenagers regularly smoke cannabis in the stairwells.

The 38-year-old said: "We get young kids came up here and go into the stairwell and start smoking weed. After that the whole building just smells of weed.

"And those are kids who don’t live here, and that’s not what we want when we have families living here."

Lesley Hamer, 47, has lived at the block for six years and loves the sense of community.

However, living in the block on Warburton Road comes with its challenges.

She said: "We have been having issues with the lifts, and it has been on and off since Christmas.

"I had to walk down 13 flights of stairs when it was out all of a sudden.

"We've got elderly living here, what if an elderly person needed to get downstairs in the lift? It's ridiculous and driving us all insane."

Across the city, at Millbrook Towers on Windermere Avenue, residents share the same woes.

Mo Simmons, 81 (Image: Newsquest)

Pensioner Mo Simmons says she feels stranded in her own house.

She has recently had a knee replacement and one of the lifts has been out of order for three weeks.

At times, the 81-year-old has had to wait for over half an hour as she cannot use the stairs.

She said: "It’s a nightmare, how am I supposed to get out when I need to go out or to the doctor?

"You’re just trapped in your own home."

"When you think all the people who live here, all using one lift, that is just not right."

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Previously, residents at the block had also complained of people urinating on the stairs and bin bags being left on corridors causing maggots to crawl around.

A Southampton City Council spokesperson said: "When lifts in our blocks are reported as out of service, we attend as soon as possible to reduce disruption and provide a safe and reliable facility to residents.

"Of the two lifts at Millbrook Towers and the two lifts at Dumbleton Towers, one lift at each location is operating as usual and, unfortunately, one lift is currently out of service.

"We appreciate this has increased waiting times and caused inconvenience for residents, for which we apologise, but our Neighbourhood Wardens are on hand to provide support as needed."

The spokesperson said the city council is working with contractors to source replacement parts and fix the faults.

They added: "We are committed to working with communities, partners, and the police to tackle anti-social behaviour on our estates.

"If anyone witness anti-social behaviour near their home, we urge them to report it to the police or their Local Housing Office so we can investigate."