A COUPLE are having to move home after a bungling council official sent their diary of complaints about their neighbours to the perpetrators.
Mark Maher and Louise Birt were asked to compile the diary by Plymouth City Council after a series of problems with their neighbours.
They gave the diary, which recorded 14 instances of alleged abuse or suspicious behaviour, to the council so that possible action could be considered — only for it to be sent to the very people about whom they had complained.
The couple, who have a one-year-old son, found out about the blunder when they heard a commotion from the neighbouring flat. Ms Birt said: “I could hear them shouting that I was going to get my head kicked in. I don’t think we can stay here after what has happened. We have lost all faith and trust in the council.”
Mr Maher added: “They have put us in danger.”
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The couple’s problems began when their new neighbour accused Ms Birt of calling the police after an assault outside the flats. She became even more alarmed when the man began clambering over balconies late at night. On one occasion she saw him outside her bathroom window.
The couple complained and a housing officer asked them to keep a diary. One entry said that people had tried their front door handle at night.
Plymouth City Council apologised for the blunder and said that the couple had been offered another home. “An internal investigation is under way in the light of what would appear to have been a genuine mistake.”