Following the murder of 88-year-old Irene Barrett on their estate, people living there expressed shock and dismay. MARK CHANDLER revisited the area to find out about the place where the great grandmother spent her last days.
WINSTON Burnett points to a graffiti-daubed door which leads out on to the roof of Valiant House, overlooking Charlton’s football ground.
Looking at the chipped pieces of wood lying on the floor, he says: “It looks like they’ve been back trying to break it down again”.
Mr Burnett, 68, a resident of the block for 10 years, says youngsters often come into the 16-storey Charlton block where Mrs Barrett had lived alone for 20 years.
The great grandmother was stabbed and beaten to death in her flat on May 15.
One floor down is a window where, until it was sealed up just after the murder, children would clamber out on to a ledge, risking a 16-storey drop to the ground below in order to watch the football.
He says: “These are just small things really but they add up.
“If they just had CCTV cameras it would deter people from abusing it “The problem is that some people are really pigs. They live here but they don’t mind if they’re living in a pigsty.”
A communal garden was provided at the back by housing association Charlton Triangle Homes, which runs the block.
Mr Burnett, who lives with his 64-year-old wife Phyllis in the block, says: “They did this area up very nice but I don’t think it gets used very much.
“The pebbles aren’t a good idea. Kids just throw stones at each other.”
He claims many of the problems could be solved by having a fulltime security guard on the front door.
One woman claims the Valley Grove area is worse than Kidbrooke’s notorious Ferrier Estate.
The broken entry system to her building does not worked and has swear words daubed on it while she has two of her windows boarded up.
She said: “I hate this area. It’s the worst I’ve ever lived in.
“There’s nothing down here. It’s really grey and horrible. If I’m on a bus travelling out of here, it just seems to get brighter.
“I lived on the Ferrier and the Ferrier was better than this.”
Other people in the block say the area has changed in recent years.
Sylvia Melvin, 77, says: “It was a brilliant block before but most of the people I know have either moved out or died.
“A lot of new people just hang around with cans of beer.”
He said: “I’ve never had any trouble. The security door downstairs has made a dffierence.
“But just recently I was wandering down the street here and some young kid on a bike offers me any drug I want.”
Director for Charlton Triangle Homes Andrew Kimmance said: “At the block there is a video controlled door entry system that can be used by all residents.
“However we regularly review security and following this dreadful act we will continue to so in discussions between ourselves, the residents and the police."
Daniel Franklin, aged 33, of Felixstowe Road, Abbey Wood, has been charged with Mrs Barrett's murder.
Victoria Cordice, aged 30, of Little Heath, Charlton, has been charged with perverting the course of justice and assisting an offender.
Both have been remanded in custody to appear at the Old Bailey on August 25.
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