A “ONE man crime wave” has been evicted from his home in the housing estate he terrorised.
Gravesham Council and Kent police officers threw Andrew Reader out of his council house on Queens Road in the Kings Farm estate in Gravesend last Tuesday (May 11).
The 37-year-old has 55 convictions for 120 offences including burglary, theft, violence, witness intimidation, false imprisonment, carrying offensive weapons and assaults.
A council spokesman said Reader had been a “one man crime wave” and has “no right to stay in the property” and added that it has “no duty to re-house him following the eviction”.
Reader’s most recent conviction was on December 17 last year, when he pleaded guilty to theft at Dartford Magistrates' Court and was sentenced to 56 days in prison.
Chief Inspector Phil Painter, who is in charge of neighbourhood policing in north Kent, said Reader’s eviction is “another step in making Kings Farm estate a much safer place”.
He said: “We are pleased to have assisted in the eviction of a prolific and persistent offender whose criminal activities impacted terribly on the community.”
Council and police officers distributed letters to every home in the estate to explain the eviction.
Councillor John Cubitt, cabinet member for community safety, said: “The eviction should reassure everyone that the council means business in dealing with serial criminals.”
Councillor Anthony Pritchard, cabinet member for housing, added: “This case sends a message to our tenants that we will not tolerate those who prey on their neighbours and blight the lives of the others in the community.”
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