RESIDENTS suffered a sleepless night over the weekend after 'squatters' took residence of an abandoned council building in Poole and played drum and bass techno music.
Youths occupied the disused Oakdale Adult Education Centre in the early hours of Sunday, October 16.
It is believed entry to the boarded-up building was gained via the roof before a group of people “blasted awful drum and bass techno” until 3.30am.
One resident, who wished to remain anonymous but lived in the block of flats in Wimborne Road which looked directly at the play field, said the music went on what felt like “forever”.
She added: “At about 11.45pm on Saturday the music started playing and it was deafening, so I stuck my head out of the window.
“There was a rave in the play centre so I rang 101 and the police came. They sort of sounded their siren and the music went off.
“Police said they may have got in via the roof because the boarded-up windows were still intact.
“The police said they couldn’t do anything because it would be dangerous to get into the centre through the roof.”
The woman said the music was switched back on shortly after the police left all the way until 3.30am and added the “awful” music came from a loud sound system and the culprits were using “proper” equipment.
“I was frustrated nobody could do anything about it. We’re taxpayers so why can’t the police or council do something about them?” she added.
Read more: Man hospitalised after a fall from a balcony in Poole
Another resident added anti-social behaviour in the area has become a “bit of a problem” and that she too heard loud music in the early hours.
A Dorset Police spokesman said: “We received a report at 11.58pm on Saturday 15 October 2022 regarding a disturbance at an unoccupied building in Dorchester Road in Poole.
“Officers attended and no criminal offences were identified. Words of advice were given to those presence regarding noise levels and advice was given to the original informant regarding contact with the local authority.”
A BCP Council spokesperson said: “We are looking into the reports that squatters have entered the former Adult Education Centre building in Oakdale and we are working closely with our agency partners to investigate any evidence of anti-social behaviour.
“Once an assessment has been made, the housing team will make sure the building continues to be safe and secure. A public consultation on the future use of this site went live in the summer of 2022 and all options are being explored.”
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