Pupils get up to no good in abandoned house?

Everyone knows teenagers can be rebellious and fly in the face of authority from time to time, but getting up to nonsense in an abandoned house equals a dangerous situation…

Saffa Street residents are complaining that teenage learners are using an empty house in the area as a ‘hang out’ spot after school. They say it’s also an ideal hideaway if they decide to ‘bunk’ school. The house in question was destroyed by a fire awhile ago, and is now just the ‘shell’ with no one living there. “It has become a house where pupils meet to have ‘couple time’ or hang out after school and do whatever teens do these days,” says a concerned Saffa Street resident. He adds that he has noticed young girls going into the house with older boys. “I can’t say what goes on in there, but I can hear them making a loud noise when they’re all together. You can’t take these things lightly when alcohol, drugs and teenage pregnancies are very real problems in today’s world!”

When a Ladysmith Gazette journalist went to investigate for herself, she found empty beer bottles and cigarette butts lying everywhere.

Aside from school-going teens, homeless people evidently sleep in the house at night. They also use it as their own personal toilet, urinating on the walls and turning the house into a dump. Residents are also afraid that criminals might use the house to scope out the area and look for easy targets. “This makes the situation even more dangerous. What if these teens walk in on criminals who won’t let them leave again? It could all get really nasty.”

Long grass surrounds the house, making it a breeding ground for mosquitos and a whole host of other pests. “We want the municipality to break down this house. This will save us all a lot of problems and we’ll feel much safer living in the area,” adds the resident.