ELDENE and Liden residents will this week hear from police representatives following a ‘ghetto’ crime wave.

Police and Crime Commissioner Angus Macpherson and Swindon South Inspector Dave Hobman are due to attend the public meeting tomorrow.

It follows a similar meeting last month, at which more than 50 people vented their frustrations about a spate of crimes in the area, including thefts from cars, burglaries, anti-social behaviour and drug dealing.

At that meeting, Mick Hickey, 62, who has lived in the area for 15 years, said: “If we don’t do something now, Eldene will become a ghetto. It’s getting really bad.”

Another resident spoke of how she had been accosted by a man she suspected of abusing drugs. She said: “He said, ‘I’ll clean your gutters. If I’m not doing that I’ll rob your house’.”

The public meeting, which saw contributions from parish councillors and a neighbourhood watch representative, was organised by former special constable and UKIP parliamentary candidate Martin Costello.

He said of the follow-up event: “The outcome we want to see is a reduction in crime.

“Residents want an assurance that the funding will be there to make our communities safer.

“I can’t really see that a lot has changed since the last meeting.”

Martin added that he was concerned about reports of thefts from cars around Swindon.

He invited residents from areas beyond Eldene and Liden to the meeting.

The public meeting is at Eldene Community Centre, on September 27 from 7pm until 8.30pm.