Misery for her neighbours in Lordshill due to reign of terror

Mary Plaisted could now be made homeless in a bid to bring peace to a council sheltered housing block in Southampton after a decade of complaints. It is understood housing chiefs feared they could be left open to a costly legal action for failing to act.

It follows the recent death of a neighbour who had made complaints about Mrs Plaisted.

Documents obtained by the Daily Echo reveal Mrs Plaisted’s catalogue of antisocial behaviour, including banging on the windows and doors of her neighbours’ flats at all hours and repeatedly demanding: “999... come at once, it’s an emergency.”

She has reportedly punched and assaulted council staff and carers with a walking stick and hurled torrents of obscene language.

Many carers have refused to work with her after she accused them of theft.

Her telephone was cut off after she made hundreds of calls to police for no valid reason, and social services cut her emergency call button after she raised the alarm 500 times in one month for no valid reason.

Residents said Mrs Plaisted wanders into traffic in all weathers wearing little but a shawl, appealing to drivers for help.

They said she fakes falls to attract attention and peers into the windscreens of empty parked cars, banging on them for attention.

Tenants of the close where Mrs Plaisted lives in Lordshill have for years pleaded with the council to move her.

They said she is both a nuisance and “a danger to herself” and needs round-the-clock care.

They have kept extensive noise logs to prove their case.

Some have sought doctors’ notes to prove that distress and sleep-loss caused by Mrs Plaisted was affecting their health.

Southampton City Council eventually erected a fence to keep her away from their windows.

The council says she has been assessed as having no mental health issues but tenants claim the authority has been in “denial”.

One elderly resident, who did not want to be named, said: “She’s been an absolute nightmare. We’re tried everything. It’s not fair on her or us.”

Another added: “I can see their problem. How do you give an ASBO to someone that old?”

Mrs Plaisted, who lives in a wellkept £75-a-week ground floor flat, insisted she only called for help when needed and had “tapped” on a neighbour’s window once.

She said: “I’ve done nothing wrong to be moved. There is nowhere for me to go.”

Mrs Plaisted’s said her only surviving relative was a son. He was unavailable for comment.

The council finally decided to launch legal “possession proceedings” which could result in Mrs Plaisted’s eviction, after chief executive Brad Roynon ordered an investigation in December.

However it is understood no suitable alternative private or social housing has been found in the city.

The council refused to say what would happen if she was evicted or the grounds for its action.

A spokesman said: “We always seek to find a balance between an individual’s needs and that of other residents.”

"When serious issues arise we investigate every possible solution and work with people in order to secure an outcome that accommodates everyone’s best interests if we can.

"This can take time but it is important that all outcomes are properly considered and that any action taken is not done so lightly, especially if this action results in someone losing their home.”

Sandra Smith, chief executive of Age Concern Southampton, said: “We hope Southampton City Council will be able to put her in a safe place more appropriate to her needs.”