LANCASTER City Council has hit back at claims that it is not prepared to evict Ryeland's troublemakers. Housing chief, Cllr Ian Barker, has refuted suggestions made by Independent councillors that the Council has failed in its obligation to evict troublemakers from the notorious estate. He said: "The Council has started possession proceedings against numerous families. Council tenants are secure tenants and cannot be evicted without a court order. Because proceedings take several months a Notice of Intent to Seek Possession often results in a family abandoning their property before we get an eviction order. We have never had to use bailiffs to carry out a forcible eviction, but if necessary we will."

While acknowledging that some of the council's critics were speaking out of genuine concern about racial harassment and anti-social behaviour he also added that others were playing with words in a way designed to mislead and that their actions heightened tension on the estate.

"We will continue to take action against troublemakers on Ryelands and other estates," he said. "I believe our use of professional witnesses, the use of possession orders, the exclusion of some people from the housing register and the installation of CCTV show we mean business. We are also trying to help the majority of law abiding people on the estate make Ryelands a better place to live. They are not well served by councillors who distort this record for their own political ends."

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