A council has agreed to apologise to a man whose complaints about a neighbour’s anti-social behaviour were ignored.

The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman has revealed that the Enfield resident had felt ‘unsafe in his own home’ due to London Borough of Enfield’s inaction following multiple reports the resident had submitted about a neighbouring property.

According to the Ombudsman, the resident had reported ‘persistent screaming, shouting, threats and bad smells’ from the neighbour, which were overlooked by the council over a period of many months last year.

Despite being legally entitled to a formal review of his case, the council had failed to complete this procedure, leading to ‘significant distress and frustration’ on the resident’s behalf, the Ombudsman has said.

The council had also neglected to check whether the man was vulnerable or at risk following the reports.

In accordance with the Ombudsman’s recommendations, the local authority has now agreed to pay the resident £500 and issue him an apology.

The council has also committed to examining the resident’s reports more thoroughly to undertake a risk assessment and case review, as well as developing a plan to improve its management of anti-social behaviour reports and its complaint-handling procedure.

Chief Executive at the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, Julie Odams, said: ‘Councils have a range of powers available to them and should consider which is most appropriate when residents report problems. When someone says they feel unsafe, assessing their vulnerability should be a starting point — not an afterthought.

‘This is not the first time we have found this council failing to use its powers to tackle anti-social behaviour. We are concerned this points to a wider problem with how it runs this service and the effectiveness of local oversight.’

The council has been contacted for comment.