Drugs and antisocial behaviour have taken over a “horror” house in a crowded Pembroke neighbourhood on the outskirts of Hamilton, a resident has complained, with the area held hostage to “drugs, partying and mayhem”.

A longtime resident of Crossland Lane told The Royal Gazette that after the death of the property’s owner, relatives had “welcomed the worst of the worst into the neighbourhood”.

The resident, whose identity is being withheld, said that the house — the scene one month ago of a firearms incident without any apparent injuries — had degenerated into a hotbed of loud music and open drug and alcohol consumption.

Area residents who flagged up concerns with the property owner and family had been met with “nasty and unrepeatable exchanges”.

Police responded to the complaint, with a spokesman saying that there had been a “heightened focus on the neighbourhood as a whole” and 59 checks had been conducted since the February 3 gun incident.

The spokesman said that police had been hampered by a lack of actionable reports and detail on illegal drug activity.

Specifics on police activity centred on Crossland Lane came in response to the resident’s protest that “nothing seems to have changed” even with patrols by the Bermuda Police Service.

The resident added: “Deals are made at all hours out in the open, without respect for neighbours or our young children.

“Bikes and cars are coming and going at all hours of the night.”

The resident said that fearful elderly neighbours were prisoners in their homes in an area “already on edge with past shootings taking place”.

The neighbourhood was shocked in May 2016 by the gun murder of Patrick Dill, a 26-year-old resident with no links to the island’s gang culture.

Mr Dill was shot dead outside his home on the lane, a dense residential area on the hillside off Parson’s Road by the border with Devonshire.

His murder remains unsolved.

In August 2014, a 62-year-old man was injured seriously in a stabbing at a Crossland Lane residence.

The resident stated of the problem residence: “It’s well known that it has become a party and supply house.

“I feel as if once a drug bust or intervention is made, the property needs to be confiscated.”

They added: “If the politicians and representatives are slow to do something, I wish for it to be known ahead of time the detriment that this element at Crossland Lane poses.

“Who needs or wants our children to be confronted with this daily?”

The police spokesman said that a number of checks had been carried out at Crossland Lane over the past month.

“That is notwithstanding the fact that, apart from the recent firearms incident, there have been three calls for service from residents of that neighbourhood and each time there has been a response from the BPS.”

These included a reported stolen motorcycle, a noise complaint and a suspicious-person report.

“We have not received any reports or actionable intelligence on any drug activity in order to conduct search warrants at any residence at Crossland Lane.

“As part of our focus on Crossland Lane, our parish officers have conducted house-to-house inquiries and shared information with residents on how they may contact police to report criminal activity or register any concerns they may have.”

He added: “Officers have also attended one residence identified as being at the centre of unwanted activity.

“Officers are frequently conducting patrols of the area and are directed to engage persons involved in any antisocial behaviour.

“Other measures are being implemented, but it would not be prudent to publicise what those look like.

“We are being proactive. However, expectations have to be managed on what police legally can do in the absence of specific offences or intelligence.

“We continue to work with area residents and assure them that any reports of illegal activity will be dealt with swiftly.”