Neighbourhood Watched - Season 3

Noise nuisance is the biggest problem in social housing and can lead to violence, ill health and even suicide if it's not resolved. In his high rise flat in Eccles, 55-year-old John is blasting out Smooth FM morning, noon and night to the despair of his downstairs neighbour, 20-year-old mum, Jess. But what starts off as a simple noise complaint to housing officer Cat Towl escalates to a serious dispute as John reacts badly to Jess's complaints and reveals a darker side.

Meanwhile, housing officer Lyndon Pugh is trying to help a tenant with a recurring habit of hoarding household waste. 68-year-old Mary's high-rise flat in Ashton-Under-Lyne is literally a tip, with rubbish piling high in every room. Lyndon has to intervene, not just for Mary's well-being but because her habits also present a serious fire and health risk for her neighbours.

Finally, housing officer Paul Spencer is dealing with ruffled feathers in Dukinfield. A pair of cockerels in a tenant's garden are providing a 4am wake up call for the neighbours. Paul will have to get his hands dirty to resolve the problem.

Tenancy enforcement manager Alan Kibble has a tenant whose chaotic lifestyle is ruining the family life of Kerry, Greg and their three children. Sleepless nights and stress from late-night rows, loud music and swearing from their next-door neighbours have driven them to despair, and they have turned to their housing association for help. Alan's team decide to gather evidence with CCTV and noise monitoring equipment.

Scott has been sleeping in the lounge of his housing association home for seven years, after a degenerative back condition stopped him using the stairs. Scott and his partner, Joanne, have tried to manage and have avoided asking for help. But life has become so tough that they have turned to their local housing officer, Jen Bradley, for help to get a bigger home.

Meanwhile, housing manager Sean Ellam is called to a flat where drug addicts have turned a home into a hell-hole. The flat is scattered with needles, and it has been stripped of everything of value - even the kitchen sink. The tenant is nowhere to be found, and Sean needs to find out if he is safe - but also if he is responsible.

Over 11 million people in Britain, one in six of the population, live in social housing and the waiting lists are growing every week. Most are good tenants, but a small minority are prepared to risk everything, and make their neighbours' lives a misery, through their anti-social behaviour.

Filmed with two of the country's biggest housing associations, Neighbourhood Watched reveals the reality of life for housing officers and their tenants in Greater Manchester. From evicting people responsible for anti-social behaviour to dealing with noisy neighbours and from helping hoarders to people at their wits' end on growing waiting lists, there are new problems every week.

Eighty-year-old Gerard has lived alone in his flat for over 18 years, but he hasn't slept in his bed for the last four because he can't find it underneath the piles of belongings he's hoarding - including a bath full of presents he's never sent. Housing officer Lyndon Pugh is worried that it's bad for Gerard's health and a fire risk for his neighbours. But Gerard is reluctant to let go of even the smallest items, never mind the food that is over a decade out of date.

Ageing raver Stephen is a free spirit who enjoys loud music and late-night visitors. But it's making his 70-year-old neighbour Tom's life a misery. Tenancy enforcement officer Ivan Wright is on the case and after three warnings, Stephen's tenancy is on a knife-edge.

Meanwhile, after a relationship breakdown, 28-year-old Vicky has been forced to move her three-year-old son and 12-year-old daughter into her parents' one-bedroom flat. With five of them under one roof - and just one bed - Vicky and the kids are sleeping on inflatable mattresses on the floor. Vicky urgently needs a three-bedroom home, but they're in very short supply.

In this programme, housing officer Cat Towl experiences an inevitable, but still shocking, first in her job - finding a tenant has died in one of the flats she manages. It's clear his body has been undiscovered for some time and Cat is upset that his neighbours haven't even noticed.

Meanwhile housing officer Jill Swann-Hunter has to step in when a Polish family find themselves under attack in their own home from a gang of youths on their estate. Scarred by previous experiences of racially-motivated abuse they have installed CCTV cameras which have recorded a series of attacks including their door being kicked in, fireworks being thrown at their property and threatening gestures made to the cameras.

Called to meet a tenant suspected of abandoning his property, housing officer Sarah Chilton finds a very different set of problems. Stephen is living with no furniture, no heating but most worryingly piles of rubbish and recycling piling up around his flat. Sarah's concern is that if she doesn't step in Stephen's hoarding will get out of control.

In social housing people have little say in who their neighbours are, so when tenants don't get along, it can mean war. 42-year-old Anne is in an on-going feud with upstairs neighbour, 69-year-old Jimmy. She is driven crazy by his late night partying, but he is furious about the fact she uses the communal hallway as a parking space for her mobility scooter.

Stuck in the middle is housing officer David Wright. He has only been with the housing association for eight weeks, but already knows the case well and the tit-for-tat goings on mean it will not be easy for him to find a resolution.

Meanwhile, 24-year-old Vicky has been living in a caravan for the last five years. But with a young son now sharing her bed, and with no running water and few amenities, she has turned to her local housing association to find somewhere more permanent to live. But with forty times more applications than properties available in her area, finding a new home will not be easy.

Elsewhere, owner-occupiers Stephen and Elaine and their two young children are having problems with their social housing next-door neighbour's drinking, swearing and parties.

Tenancy enforcement manager Alan Kibble works for New Charter housing. An ex-police officer with over a decade of housing experience, he is nearing the end of what he describes as 'the worst case I've ever been involved in', evicting a family of 'neighbours from hell'.

Meanwhile, with housing waiting lists rocketing almost 80 per cent in the past decade, New Charter housing's allocations manager, Shonna Hildersley, is under more pressure than ever. She is trying to help some tenants whose lives have been turned upside down. Diana lives with her two young boys and her 27-year-old boyfriend, Danny, who has been diagnosed with a brain tumour. She has also just found out she is pregnant, so they are in desperate need of a bigger home.

Finally, young housing officer Cat Towl has an unusual case of noise nuisance to deal with - involving two older gentlemen. She soon discovers that there is more than one way to sort out a noisy neighbour complaint.