FOLLOWING an attempted burglary at Fountain Farm on January 15, Bush Fair Labour Councillors, Ian Beckett and Mark Ingall and Labour’s County Council Candidate for Harlow South East, Eugenie Harvey met with residents to discuss the incident and to hear about on-going concerns.

The meeting, which took place on Saturday January 28, was held in the Common Room of the supported housing scheme and was attended by seven residents. Other residents were spoken to on their doorsteps.

From the conversations it became clear that the reported incident was not an isolated incident and that a number of residents had been targeted by the same man – who purports to offer handyman services – over a period of weeks.

Alarmingly, during the Councillors’ meeting, the man returned to the estate and approached one of the residents in her home a second time. Fortunately the resident’s son was visiting and he was able to chase him off to his vehicle. Unfortunately nobody was able to get the registration details.

Councillor Mark Ingall said: “This has been a very distressing time for all the residents and Ian, Eugenie and I wanted to extend our sympathy and more importantly, encourage vigilance and offer reassurance that the matter is being taken seriously by the Council.

“I have made sure the police are aware of this latest incident, but there are some practical steps the Council will take as a matter of priority that will improve the security of the properties. We have organised a follow up meeting with residents on February 11 to check on progress.

“These are spirited and independent minded elderly residents, but they are vulnerable and they are being targeted. We have a duty of care to them, and to all residents of our supported housing schemes, to ensure that they feel safe and secure in their own homes.

“Over the longer term, what they want – along with most Harlow residents – is more police on our streets, particularly PCSOs.

“We call on Essex County Council not to cut funds for supported housing in Harlow and to bring back neighbourhood policing.