A one-man crime wave who terrorised a Gravesend estate has been evicted from his council house.

Gravesham Borough Council, with the help of North Kent Police, evicted Andrew Reader from the Queens Road property at midday on Tuesday.

Reader has 55 convictions for 120 offences including burglary, theft and violence, witness intimidation, false imprisonment, carrying offensive weapons and assaults.

In September 2008 a crown court judge slapped an ASBO on the thug, preventing him from carrying a chisel or screwdriver in public for three years after police tried to get him banned from Gravesend town centre where he was known for harrassing shop staff.

In April last year he was jailed for four months for stealing a car stereo.

A council statement said Mr Reader had been assessed for homelessness status and refused. The council has no duty to re-house him following the eviction.

Cllr Anthony Pritchard, the council's cabinet member for housing, said: “This case sends a message to our tenants that we will not tolerate those who prey on their neighbours and blight the lives of the others in the community.

"Eviction is the ultimate sanction but we will not shy away from it when necessary for the sake of the vast majority of tenants who are honest and decent.”