HOME (not so sweet) HOME

There is concern after a group of children climbed into an open manhole and started a fire.

Now Peter Stevens, who lives near the site, is urging the developers to take action.

Mr Stevens, 39, moved into his £155,000 home at Thresher Drive, Groundwell East, near Abbey Meads, last December.

Mr Stevens, a railway maintenance worker, said: "You can see where the bricks have been thrown everywhere behind my house. It seems like they have just been left here.

"The drain has been open for a long time and the bottom of it is full of bricks and rubbish.

"One of my neighbours walked past and saw five or six children emerging from it.

"Children will play on building sites. I know I would have at that age, but it is a miracle that no-one has been hurt yet."

Last Monday at noon, the fire brigade was called to the drain after children climbed down the 20ft deep hole and lit a fire among rubbish there.

The brigade needed a hose, two firefighters in breathing apparatus and a thermal imaging camera to locate and extinguish the blaze.

Developers George Wimpey says the area has now been fully secured.

John Fletcher, the company's development director, said: "The manhole in question was securely locked but was vandalised over the weekend. I have visited the site and it is now secure.

"The bricks were left there because we will have to continue building a wall once the access road is closed, and they were very securely held together with metal ties. The only way someone could get at them is if they were really trying.

"We have had problems with vandals and there is only so much we can do once we have secured a site before we leave on a Friday.

"We are unable to close the access road until June because the council want it kept open for further deliveries.

"The streetlights are the responsibility of a consortium of builders in the area, which also includes Barratt Homes and King's Oak, and we will be doing our best to ensure they are fully functioning as soon as possible."