ELDENE was labelled a “ghetto” as dozens of furious residents met to debate a recent crime wave.

At a public meeting on Wednesday evening, more than fifty local residents hit out at what they saw as an inadequate response from police.

The last 18 months has seen a crime wave sweep over the Eldene and Liden area, residents said, with thefts from cars, burglaries, drug dealing and anti-social behaviour.

Martin Costello, an Eldene resident and former Wiltshire Police special constable, called the meeting last week.

He said: “All these issues have increased dramatically. We shouldn’t have to live in a culture of fear.”

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.”

One woman said: “The police have been more than aware of the problem from the very beginning. Youngsters started selling drugs in this area. That then attracted the undesirables, who wanted to buy the drugs.”

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

The meeting, which was held at Eldene Community Centre, heard from Wiltshire Neighbourhood Watch chairman Mike Davidson and local parish councillors Basil Solomon and Oladapo Ibitoye.

The panel listened to residents’ concerns about police not responding to reports to non-emergency number 101 – although others said they had had better experiences with police turning-out to 999 calls.

Mike Davidson said: “The 101 number is a problem area for police all over Wiltshire. Everyone knows within the police force that 101 isn’t working as it should.”

There was widespread anger that Wiltshire Police had not provided a representative to attend the meeting. One man asked: “Why aren’t the police here?”

Earlier this week the force said that it had not been possible to send an “appropriate” officer because of the short notice, but that they would make “every effort to attend a community meeting” in the future.

Angry residents confronted the panel, asking whether they could take matters into their own hands.

One man interrupted the meeting to say: “How can we legally grab a drug dealer by the scruff of his neck and take him to the police station?”

Mike Davidson of Wiltshire Neighbourhood Watch warned against any form of vigilantism. He instead urged residents to continue to report incidents to the police, through calling 101 or 999 or reporting it through the web-based system Community Messaging.

The meeting closed with organisers agreeing to hold a meeting in coming months, to which Wiltshire Police, Swindon Borough Council leader David Renard and Wiltshire and Swindon Police and Crime Commissioner Angus McPherson would be invited.

They would ask police for an “action plan” on tackling crime in the area.

Coun Oladapo Ibitoye said: “We, as a community want to help support the police to support us.”

Event organiser Martin Costello said: “I was overwhelmed by the turnout. A lot of people were very brave to come out and voice their concerns.”

A Wiltshire Police spokesman said: “We are aware of the issues in and around Eldene and officers are working hard in a number of ways to tackle the issues, with the support of partner agencies.

“Discussions have been had with the event organiser via email, where it was made clear that Wiltshire Police will always make every effort to attend a community meeting, and that should an alternative date be offered in due course with more notice, we would be in a better position to fully support the event.

“A community consultation is regularly offered to local residents on the first Friday of every month between 5pm and 7pm at the Morrisons Supermarket, Dorcan Way, Swindon, where a local PCSO is made available to members of public to come and speak about any concerns or issues that they may have.”

The force, and Police and Crime Commissioner Angus Macpherson, had come under fire in the run up to the meeting after both said they would not be able to send a representative to the meeting to hear residents concerns.

A police spokesman at the time said they had not been notified with enough warning in order to allocate a suitable representative to attend the meeting.