A crack house which has been used by addicts and dealers for the past 18 months or so, has been closed by police.

Officers from Medway Police went to court this morning (Tuesday) to get the address shut and boarded up to end months of misery for neighbours.

The flat, number 7, Peak House, in Manor Road, Chatham, was a preferred location for drug pushers as it was at the centre of the town's prostitution racket.

At about 11.30am this morning police were given permission to close the flat down for up to three months, by magistrates in Medway under the Anti-Social Behaviour Act, 2003.

Officers went immediately to the flat, in the former Kent Reliance Building Society building opposite what the former Manor Road addiction centre and with the help of the landlord, boarded it up.

Neighbours have been living in terror for months as dealers and users regularly threatened them and used the flat and communal areas to inject heroin and deal Class A drugs.

For the full story see Friday's edition of Medway Messenger.