RESIDENTS in a flat block scheduled for demolition have hit out at claims that the building has become a den for thieves, yobs and junkies.

The terrace of three-storey flats in Houghton Street, Widnes, has been recommended for destruction following complaints from residents.

Several flats have already been abandoned and Halton Borough Council has decided the only option is to reduce the block, comprising numbers 79-113, to rubble.

The flats, which date from 1965, are a mixture of one, two and three-bedroom properties, but in recent years the council has highlighted problems from drug users moving into empty properties, higher than expected levels of burglary and vandalism, nuisance neighbours, dogs and a huge drop in demand for tenancies.

A council report also reveals that residents in the surrounding areas of Clapgate Crescent, Hale Road, Wyncroft Road and Avondale Drive have been intimidated by drug addicts and thugs.

But some residents living in the flats claim the council report has labelled everyone in Houghton Street as 'the scum of the earth'.

One resident, who did not wish to be identified, said: 'This area is not all bad. It's true some dodgy people have moved in and caused trouble for the majority, but most of us here are law-abiding people.

'We now feel that we have all been lumped in the same boat with the druggies and criminals around here.

'Most of us do not bother anyone and just want to go about our lives as quietly as possible. The council would be better off throwing out the trouble-makers and getting some decent people to move in rather than destroying the whole block.

'By knocking it down they are just letting the criminals win the day because they will have to be re-housed alongside everyone else and they will just go and ruin another area.'

Maisonettes near the flats were demolished six years ago because they were so unpopular the council had problems finding people willing to take up tenancies.

More than half the flats in the Houghton Street block are empty, compared with 8% in the rest of the borough. The average cost of repairs to properties in the block was more than  £970 per flat, compared with £300 in the rest of Halton.

In addition, more than £18,600 is owed in unpaid rent in the block by the tenants, many of whom are under 23 years old.

Last week, Halton council's executive board rubber-stamped the proposal to demolish the block.