TWIN teenage brothers have been evicted from their home after subjecting neighbours to two months of late-night partying, fights and drink-fuelled disturbances.
Christopher and Scott Sammons, 17, have been banned from the flat owned by their mother – the first time such a move has been made in Scotland involving a privately owned home.
The twins, whose father works in the oil industry, moved into the fla
t in a previously quiet cul-de-sac on 4 June and since then neighbours have complained consistently about parties and an "open house" arrangement, which attracted an "undesirable element" to the area.
They said their quality of life had been seriously affected with disturbances at all times of the day and have been getting by on three hours' sleep a night.
Some have suffered stress- related illnesses and been off work, and many spent weekends with family or friends to seek respite.
Residents said the unruly behaviour frequently spilled out into the streets and neighbouring gardens, and the immediate area has been constantly littered with empty bottles, cans and discarded food.
Police, who previously had cause to visit the neighbourhood in Ashgrove Court, Elgin, only once in the past two years, were called 26 times to the property – more than once every three days – during the twins' stay.
Officers say the teenagers were warned repeatedly about their behaviour, but the disruption continued unabated.
Even when the closure order was served on the boys, one of them started to chew the paper copy in front of a policeman.
The eviction came after action by police and Moray Council's antisocial behaviour unit.
The order was granted at Elgin Sheriff Court on Wednesday afternoon and immediately enforced, banning the twins from entering the property. Steel shutters were erected to ensure no-one gained access.
Police and the council sought the closure for a maximum of three months in a joint action. The boys did not attend court as they were at school, but their mother, Susan Sammons, and grandmother, Rosemary Barker, were present.
Approving the order, Sheriff Noel McPartlin told Mrs Sammons that there was plenty of cause for the order. She agreed, saying: "I have no problem with them being evicted. But the closure order effectively prevents me from letting the flat out to someone else or selling it."
It was agreed the order be made for two weeks, by which time the twins will have moved to Zambia to stay with their oil worker father, who is estranged from the boys' mother. Meanwhile, the twins will have to find somewhere to stay or present themselves to Moray Council as homeless.
Mrs Sammons told the court that she did not want them staying with her or her mother.
Superintendent Alan Smailes of Grampian Police's Moray division said: "The action taken provides respite for communities which have been plagued by serious antisocial behaviour associated with this household.
"Whilst we appreciate the measures which we have taken are extreme, the persistent behaviour by individuals left us with no alternative and we would not hesitate to do this again in similar circumstances."
'It was constant noise…fights and shouting every night'NEIGHBOURS of the twins spoke last night of the disruption they had caused. One neighbour, who did not wish to be named, said: "It was a living nightmare. They were party animals who had all the toerags of Elgin coming through their house.
"It was constant noise, with fights and shouting happening every night.
"This is the best thing that could happen. These boys got away with murder. They just went on a rampage.
"They have had no parental control. Apparently, the council say they could be going to live with their father in Zambia."
Another neighbour, aged 74, added: "The mother just put them in that flat to get rid of them. She shifted responsibility. I hope she is ashamed, because her boys certainly don't act it."
The full article contains 659 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
