Teenagers' home causes Portishead locals misery

People living near a newly opened home for troubled teenagers in Portishead say its young residents are making their lives a misery.

People living near Beach Park children's home at Beach Road West say since it opened in July there has been a catalogue of problems, with youngsters screaming and shouting in the street during the early hours.

The teens are seen on the balcony and fire escape of the property late at night, while others have been seen misbehaving in the road.

The home, operated by Blackpool-based social care provider Northerncare, got the green light to open from Ofsted, despite a wave of objections from local residents.

Neighbours said they feared the home would shatter the peace in their quiet, leafy street, just a stone's throw away from the town's picturesque Lake Grounds.

The home is registered for up to six young women with "challenging behaviour", aged between 11 and 17 years old. Young women in the care of local authorities across the South West are sent to the home, staying for anything from six months to two years.

It is understood that currently there are only two young women at the home and residents fear the problems will escalate as more arrive.

Beach Road West resident Anthony Coles, 61, said: "I know some of my neighbours are having problems with noise from the home and I understand the police have been called."

Stanley Derrick, 83, lives just a few metres away from the home and said: "I have been woken up in the early hours by noise from the youngsters at the home. It is causing a real disturbance to what is normally a very quiet neighbourhood and there seems to be no real control of these young girls."

Another neighbour said: "These girls have been on the building's fire escape at 3am. I have heard them screaming and having tantrums in the afternoons. At the moment there are only a couple of teenagers there and problems are only likely to get worse as more arrive."

Portishead Town Council chairman Councillor David Pasley, who backed the residents' campaign against the home, said he had received dozens of complaints. He added: "Currently there are only two girls staying at the home and if there are problems now, I hate to think what is going to happen when the full contingent of teenagers is housed there."

No one from Northerncare was available for comment.