'Why we wanted to evict neighbour'

4:00pm Friday 4th July 2008

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FOUR years of hell. That is what the neighbours of an evicted council tenant claim they were put through, before Deborah Kirby was finally kicked out last month.

Following an eviction hearing at York County Court on April 18, the 46-year-old was given 28 days to leave her home in Woodford Place, Acomb, due to antisocial behaviour.

But when she still had not left the property on June 24, City of York Council sent in bailiffs to empty the terraced house of her possessions.

As we reported, the following day, friends of Ms Kirby were outraged that the eviction had continued despite the fact they said she had suffered a heart attack and was being treated at York Hospital.

The mother-of-three has now been discharged from hospital and the council is housing her in bed and breakfast accommodation.

Today, her former neighbours spoke of their relief that she had gone.

Alan Douglas, 45, who lived next door to Ms Kirby with his wife Ros and two teenage children, said: “We have been living here for 17 years and the last four-and-a-half years have been hell.

“It has virtually broken us. We have nearly separated several times and she completely destroyed our lives.”

Victoria Smith, 28, and her husband, Mark, 27, became so fed up with Ms Kirby’s antisocial behaviour, they sold their house in March and moved to another area of York with their eight-month old baby.

Mrs Smith, a support worker for the Brain Injury Rehabilitation Trust, said: “We just couldn’t take it any more. We’d had four-and-a-half years of it and we’d had enough. I used to cry my eyes out because of her. I don’t think people appreciate the hell we went through and it wasn’t easy going to court either.” Mrs Smith, whose husband is a customer consultant for Nationwide, said Ms Kirby’s golden Labrador, Luca, was also a source of terror in Woodford Place.

She said: “The dog used to get out and go for people down the street – it was terrifying.”

On February 21, Ms Kirby was given a two-year conditional discharge after she pleaded guilty at York Magistrates Court to failing to comply with an order to keep her dog under proper control.

A City of York Council spokeswoman said: “The council takes the consequences of evicting a tenant very seriously and eviction is only considered as a last resort, after all other options have been pursued.

“The antisocial behaviour from Ms Kirby’s household continued for four years and had had a significant impact on the quality of life of her neighbours.”