It is a contender for the unenviable title of the "Worst Street in Britain". Cops have been called out to Hanover Road in Rowley Regis an astonishing 351 TIMES in just 18 months to deal with a long list of anti-social behaviour incidents. Furious residents of the Black Country town have phoned police with complaints ranging from car vandalism to indecent exposure and verbal abuse. And privately they claim that just one family is behind a high proportion of the problems. Sue Bastables family was handed an eviction notice by Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council last year after housing chiefs decided to get tough on nuisance neighbours. But Mrs Bastable got the decision overturned on appeal - leaving residents fuming at what they see as a lack of justice. Speaking for the first time last week, Mrs Bastable remained unrepentant about the behaviour of her two sons, Lee and Bobby, who have sparked a large number of the complaints. I dont see why I should be blamed for their behaviour, she said. What they do is not my issue. The Bastables moved into their three-bedroomed council house, worth approximately £37,000, in October 1989. Initially fellow residents noticed nothing unusual about the new family but when Lee, now 20, and Bobby, now 19, hit their teenage years trouble quickly followed. By 2000, Bobby had already been handed a two-year Anti-Social Behaviour Order (ASBO) by Warley Magistrates. They heard how the teenager had been arrested 30 times in just six months over a string of incidents. One police officer told the court that allegations against Bobby included pouring disinfectant on to a six year-old girl and spraying it into the eyes of another youngster. Meanwhile Bobbys brother Lee had also fallen into a life of crime - and their mother freely admits that both sons have served several prison sentences. The single mother-of-three, who also has a pregnant 16 year-old daughter, said she had become ill because of the mental strain of the eviction case. I feel sorry for anyone who has to got to go through what I have, Mrs Bastable, 44, said. I have had to stop working over the last 12 months because of stress. There have been many times when I have just felt like packing up. But friends and family have been very supportive. People stop me in the street and say they hope I wont be leaving. Yes, my boys have been in and out of prison for things like car theft and breaking into cars - but they are victimised. My Bobby has been called in for 30 identification parades in the last couple of months. But the police will keep on coming around until they get me to move on, wont they? All this stuff about 351 police calls is rubbish - they have only been to this house 30 times at most. Mrs Bastable, a former nightclub bar manager, also claimed that her son Bobby had a track record for GOOD behaviour. He goes round to a local old peoples home every Christmas to clear snow from their drive, she added. But last night one neighbour, who asked to remain anonymous, said residents had given up. We feel let down by the justice system, she said. Now Sue Bastable is trying to buy her house which means she will be here permanently. We will just have to get on with it, but everyone here knows the nightmare will just continue. A spokesman for West Midlands Police said that officers had been sent to deal with problems in the street 351 times in an 18-month period. | 
