CANNABIS KIDS IN EVICTION ROW

PARENTS of youths found smoking cannabis could face losing their council
homes, police have told a community.

Pc Andy Thompson told a public meeting that drug-fuelled misbehaviour by
kids could rebound on their parents to such a degree that the whole family
could be evicted.

Today, though, senior council officials, politicians and drugs workers said
the threat, against parents in the Penistone area, was "out of all
proportion and wrong".

Eight teenagers were found in a "highly intoxicated" state in the waiting
room at Penistone railway station by community constable Pc Thompson Two
face possible action for being in possession of cannabis and all eight have
been sent warning letters about anti-social behaviour. Most of the eight
live in council houses in the area and police have written to Barnsley
Council about their misbehaviour. Pc Thompson told an area forum meeting:
"It is up to the council what action they are going to take, but an option
is to evict these tenants. It is a possibility that the parents of these
youths who live in council houses face losing their tenancies because of
what their sons have been doing." But the man responsible for taking
eviction action against nuisance tenants in Barnsley, Paul Brannan, today
said the policeman was wrong and no such action will be taken.

"We will - and we do - take action against tenants whose behaviour causes
fear, alarm or distress to others," he said. "If people are using drugs in
or around their home and their behaviour causes a nuisance to other
residents we have a responsibility to act and we will do so. "However, on
this occasion taking action to evict their parents would not be appropriate
and would not be proportional to the misbehaviour. "There are many ways to
deal with nuisance youths under the new anti-social behaviour legislation.

"However I would stress tenants who indulge in anti-social behaviour
causing a real nuisance to their neighbours can and will face eviction."
Barnsley West and Penistone MP, Mick Clapham, said: "I do not condone the
smoking of cannabis. But to suggest that these parents could be evicted
because of what their sons did in this situation is wrong."