A man has been evicted from his council house after a “litany” of crime and anti-social behaviour affected his neighbour’s health.

Mark Smith, 53, has been given a court notice to vacate his home in Macdonald Road, Friern Barnet.

The court agreed to serve a closure notice to Smith due to his “disorderly” and “offensive” behaviour.

The house will be closed until July.

While the notice is in place no one may enter the house.

Barnet Homes and Barnet Police both worked on the case to get Smith to vacate the premises.

While inhabited, extensive drug use occurred and neighbours would constantly complain about noise and “criminal behaviour”.

Neighbourhood Inspector Foster Percil said: “The conduct of the residents has had a detrimental effect on the health and wellbeing of the neighbours.

“We will continue to work closely with the local authority and housing trust to make sure that residents can live in peace without fear of drug related activity causing them distress.”

PC Ian Smith said: “This is a tremendously powerful piece of legislation which allows residents to engage with police, council and landlords and to drive forward change in their community to remove antisocial behaviour for the greater good and an excellent example of partnership working with Peabody housing and the anti-social behaviour team.”

A spokesperson from Barnet Homes’ anti-social behaviour team said: “Barnet Homes aims to build strong vibrant communities and are determined to tackle forcefully this kind of activity. We hope that this action will lead to a more peaceful environment for local residents”