Prostitutes and drug addicts are subjecting a Pill family to a living nightmare

Gareth Bevan, 39, has lived in his mother’s house on the corner of King’s Parade and Wilson Street in Pill all his life. He now lives there with his wife Angela, and their two-year-old son Dylan.

Mr Bevan, a retail manager, says he remembers being able to play out on the streets when he was a child, but he is unable to let his son do the same because of the illicit activities that take place around them.

(Mr Bevan has lived at the address his whole life)

“This has been a long standing issue,” said Mr Bevan.

“The street is a dead end. People are coming down here to take drugs and have sex with prostitutes outside our window in the middle of the day, either against our wall or in their cars and vans.

“The council have had to come down and remove used syringes from outside the garden around the back, and the front door.

(Some evidence of drug taking in the alleyway at the back of the Bevans' garden)

“One Monday last month a car pulled up outside with four men and a woman inside.

“You could see they were all taking drugs.

“Then, one of the men took the woman around the back and started having sex with her against my garden wall.

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“My son was playing outside in the garden while it was going on.”

Unfortunately for the Bevans, the grotesque incident was far from a one off.

Mrs Bevan, a 28-year-old health care assistant, described how the family sat down for dinner one evening when a van pulled up on the street just outside their dining room window.

(The ground is littered with discarded condoms and wrappers)

“A woman got out, then a man followed and they both got into the back of the van,” she said.

“They were having sex, you could see the van moving. That was at around 6.20pm four weeks ago.

“I called 101, who said a police presence was already in the area, but they never showed up here.

“What can we do? I’ve stood in the back garden and shouted at them. They usually just say ‘sorry’ and leave. I take registration numbers but the police say they can’t do anything unless they catch them in the act.

“Before they leave they throw their used condoms all over the floor. It’s disgusting.”

Mr Bevan said the situation it now so bad they have to scour the garden daily before letting Dylan play for fear of him falling pricking himself on a needle which may have been thrown over their wall.

“My neighbours whose gardens back onto the alleyway have had needles thrown into their gardens, and you often see prostitutes injecting themselves in Wilson Street," he added.

“I’ve lived here all my life, but it’s never been as bad as this.

"I would say that it’s gone massively down hill in the last ten years or so. They’ve just pushed the prostitutes and drugs out here from the city centre.

“I remember it being a real community where you could play safely as a kid. Some of that has definitely gone now.

Driven to despair by the problem, Mr Bevan has taken to parking his car so it blocks the dead end on King’s Parade, making it harder for to use their area.

READ MORE: Success of Pill crackdowns leads to changing view

Mrs Bevan said: “A few weeks ago, I was leaving the house with Dylan to take him to play school. I opened the door and there were used condoms all over the doorstep.

“So I had to put him back in the house and clear them away before we could leave.”

Inspector Jason Williams, of the Newport West neighbourhood policing team, said they were well aware of the criminal and antisocial behaviour relating to drug use and sex workers in the area, and were taking the concerns of the Bevan's very seriously.

He added: “We continue to work hard, with a number of partner agencies and charities, to combat these complex issues which have a significant impact on our communities, but cannot be solved by the police alone.

“We would urge anyone with concerns about criminal and antisocial behaviour in their area to contact us on 101, or 999 in an emergency, so that we can take appropriate action.”