A woman has told of the horror of living on a street in Reading where drug dealers and users “leave needles lying around” and “defecate outside her door”.

The mother-of-two told police chiefs about her family’s life on Zinzan Street, off Oxford Road, at Reading Borough Council’s (RBC) Policy committee on Thursday (September 26).

Thames Valley Police’s (TVP) Police Crime Commissioner (PCC) Anthony Stansfield attended the meeting alongside Chief Constable John Campbell and head of Reading police Superintendent Bhupinder Rai.

The trio delivered their annual reports as well as hearing from councillors and the Zinzan Street resident at the meeting.

The mother said: “On my daughter’s first day at school in Reading, she had to walk past a guy passed out on the floor with a needle sticking out of his arm, with blood and vomit everywhere.

“Situations like these are now a constant in her life. She now says she is streetwise. Is this something my ten year-old daughter should have to say?

“We’ve had to move our children to the back room which is the smallest in the flat and they have to share just to be not woken every night.”

The mother of two attended the meeting with her neighbours.

She said they are “all completely and utterly fed up” and “feel like we have to police our own streets to make sure our children are safe at night”.

“Our children should be able to grow up in a decent environment,” she said.

“I do not want my son to grow up thinking it is OK to become a drug dealer because that is what he has witnessed from day one.”

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The woman said she was calling 101 constantly to report on drug dealing and users defecating outside their front door but her and neighbours have given up now.

She described a situation where a drug dealer “exposed himself” to her daughter “while urinating”.

The Zinzan Street resident said: “When my husband caught him, words were exchanged and the man was arrested later that night after striking my husband with a needle.

“He was bailed on 14 charges with one of the conditions was that he was not to return to Zinzan Street.

“However, he came back for weeks on end while driving drunk and high on drugs and parked outside ourhouse to taunt us.

“We phoned constantly and we were told by your officers that there was a higher need than us. We didn’t get a polite response.”

PCC Anthony Stansfield said: “This is unacceptable and I will see that it is sorted out.”

Supt. Bhupinder Rai, head of Reading police, added: “The neighbourhood team are aware of it and have been doing some stuff.

“I agree that the outcome of it hasn’t resulted in the reductions I would like to see.

“We need to do something about reducing the supply in Reading and reducing the demand for drugs in Reading.”