A COUNCIL-run flat has been shut up following persistent anti-social behaviour and drug-related activity at the property.

It follows a warrant executed at the address in October last year, after which a man was subsequently convicted of drug offences earlier this year.

The flat, which is part of a council block in Hamble Road, Gosport, could be sealed after an application for a closure order, which bans entry to the flat for three months.

Portsmouth Magistrates Court agreed this could take place after Gosport Borough Council - which is working with Hampshire Constabulary - made the application.

The order will remain in place until July 6 and nobody other than council workers will be allowed to enter the property.

Acting Sergeant Andy Burnham, of Hampshire Constabulary, said: “This was a positive piece of work between Gosport Borough Council and the police to tackle drug supply in Gosport.

“A warrant was executed at the address in October 2019 and a man was subsequently convicted of drug offences earlier this year.

“Disrupting this type of offending is not simply a police-lead initiative, however, and we work closely with our partners in the council to carry out further preventative work."

The tenant can be fined or jailed if they disobey the order, which bans entry to the flat for three months.

The council will seek to permanently evict them when the closure order comes to an end.

Julie Smith, the council's head of housing, said: “The order will remain in place until 6 July and no-one apart from council workers will be allowed to enter the property during this time.

"We're pleased that the residents and the wider community will get some much-needed respite.”

Cllr Graham Burgess, Chairman of the council's Community Board, said: "Behaviour like this is totally unacceptable and I'm pleased the court agreed that this flat needed to be closed up.

"Our housing team and our police colleagues have worked hard together to get an excellent result."

Andy added: “Pursuing criminal convictions through the courts is a route we will take, but we also bolster this action with further partnership work, as this closure order demonstrates.

“I hope this closure reassures the local community that we will not tolerate drug supply and other drug-related offending in our communities, and we will do everything within our power to stop it.

“If you are concerned about drug supply in your area, please call your local neighbourhood policing team on 101.”