ANGRY neighbours say a derelict house on a town’s most “prestigious street” has been abandoned for 20 years – and left looking like a bombsite.
Residents have demanded a landlord sell the home in Swindon, Wiltshire, after it’s become a major eyesore.
They are also calling for urgent repairs on the property and for it to be taken over by the council after complaints of inaction against the landlord.
One neighbour Chris Evans, 67, says the shuttered, graffitied and burnt building is a damning indictment on the town.
He wants something urgently done about the house under the council’s empty homes scheme after it has sat unoccupied for at least 20 years.
Chris said: “This is one of the most prestigious roads in Swindon and for the council to allow that to happen is pretty disgraceful.”
A view from a neighbouring house shows a large crater in the garden and first-floor doors opening into thin air.
The nearby property puts off potential tenants and Chris believes it is damaging his business.
Another nearby resident Agne said: “It has become some sort of like freakish attraction for people to have a laugh and point at.”
The house is not only said to be unsightly but also dangerous.
Agne has lived next door for 10 years and has seen squatters living there.
She said: “You don’t know if you are going to be attacked walking home.
“If that house goes on fire straight away it will spread into our house.
“This house needs to be knocked down. The council needs to get involved.”
Latest pictures show an empty former garage, a large hole that fills with water and smashed windows and internal brickwork left exposed.
The garden and house were left in this state after an extension was demolished.
The work also reportedly caused “awful smelling” raw sewage and gas to leak from the house.
Squatters, fires lit, drug dens and vandalism have all been reported – which have left their visible marks on the house.
The chief executive of the council Samantha Mowbray has admitted that Swindon Borough Council does not have enough money to do the work itself.
The owner was contacted but refused to comment.
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