A drug dealer from Roehampton has been evicted from his council flat following legal action by the housing department.

Forty one-year-old Mark Rippon has been evicted from his flat in Brockbridge House in Tangley Grove less than a year after he took up residence there.

The council launched eviction proceedings against him after he was arrested in April this year as a result of a police raid at his flat.

When officers searched the property they found a substantial quantity of heroin and crack cocaine.

He was subsequently charged with possession of Class A Drugs with intent to supply and on August 21 he was jailed for three years and three months.

As a result of his conviction, the housing department was able to commence eviction proceedings against him for breaching his tenancy agreement. Under the terms of the agreement, which applies to all the council's rented accommodation, all tenants, their family members and friends are forbidden from a range of criminal and anti-social activities.

Earlier this month, the council finally obtained an absolute possession order from a judge at Wandsworth County Court.

As a result of his eviction, there is very little chance that Mr Rippon will be eligible for any future housing assistance from Wandsworth Council.

Executive member for housing Cllr Martin D Johnson said: "People who deal drugs on our housing estates can expect no mercy from this council. If you engage in criminal behaviour then it's not just your liberty you are risking – it's your home too.

"When Mr Rippon is freed from prison and is looking for somewhere to live, then there is every chance that he will be deemed to have made himself intentionally homeless as a result of his own actions, and so it is very unlikely that any other local authority or housing association will accept him. Any tenant who engages in anti-social behaviour or commits an arrestable offence faces the same fate."

October 24, 2008