RESIDENTS are furious after suffering several sleepless nights because of a burglar alarm persistently going off at Barnard Castle’s abandoned police station.
The faulty alarm at Bede Kirk was connected to a building formerly occupied by Teesdale and Weardale Search and Mountain Rescue Team.
Police, fell rescue, ambulance and fire services in the town moved to a new 999 hub in Wilson Street last year.
The fell rescue team has since apologised for the problem, but questions are being asked about why police did not respond soon enough to complaints or inform the rescue team of the problem.
Sophie Ebeling, who lives nearby, said the alarm first went off about six weeks ago, and it took several hours before it was turned off.
She said: “It was not a great response – it went on and on. We heard from the neighbours that the police had lost the key so they had to break into their own station to switch it off.”
The latest incident started on Tuesday, October 23.
Ms Ebeling said: “You can’t sleep with the window open because it is unbearable. It is really a hazard, especially for those living closer by. It really bothered the neighbourhood.”
She added that she had contacted the police but the alarm was still ringing on Wednesday.
A police spokesperson confirmed they are aware of the problem.
The spokesperson said: “Officers attended last night (October 24) and found the premises to be in order so it is believed that the alarm is faulty. The contractors of the building are on their way to look at the alarm.”
It later emerged that the alarm was attached to the fell rescue team’s building which forms part of the old police station complex.
Fell rescue team leader Steve Owers became aware of the problem late on Thursday afternoon, October 25.
Mr Owers apologised, saying: “It is our alarm – it is our responsibility.
“I can understand their position totally because I wouldn’t want an alarm going off.”
He provided a telephone number for neighbours to contact should the alarm go off again.
Ms Ebeling said the alarm was eventually turned of that night after her partner visited the emergency hub in Wilson Street and spoke to officers.
She still questions why police did not tell the fell rescue members about the problem.
She said: “It is a hub, so is the hub not buzzing? The police should have passed on the message.”
Ms Ebeling suggested the alarm should be turned off since no one responds to it anyway.
![A COUNTY councillor is backing a campaign to get a pedestrian crossing in Staindrop. Frustrated parish councillors in the village summoned their county council representative Cllr George Richardson to their latest meeting to discuss several issues, including the call for a safe way to cross the A688. Earlier this year their request for a crossing was turned down by the county council’s highways officers. Parish council chairman Jonothan Raper described the reasons for the refusal as “spurious” and called on Cllr Richardson to support their campaign. He added: “One of the arguments they made was there is no clear line of desire when they studied the village – well this isn’t a clear line of desire because there isn’t a crossing, people cross whenever they can. “When the lollipop person was there, one of the things I noticed was people would walk all the way down to the lollipop person to cross the road to go to the shop or to go to the school.” He added a problem of parking at the primary school is exacerbated because people are too afraid to walk their children across the road. Cllr Richardson said he had supported previous attempts for a crossing point with the first being made about 15 years ago. He added: “We went fairly well down the road with that and they looked into it. The only recommended place was where the bus stop is and to get the visibility splays, people on the other side of the road would lose their parking. “That didn’t go down well so it just died a death.” Cllr Raper said he suspected the real reason for the officers’ refusal was the cost of installing a crossing. He added that much of the cost could be recovered from savings made on not having to employ a lollipop patrol. Cllr Raper said: “A lollipop person only provides a benefit of crossing for three hours of the day. You are getting 21 extra hours of crossing time [with a pedestrian crossing].” Cllr Richardson said he would raise the issue with the county council’s cabinet member for highways, Cllr John Shuttleworth.](https://teesdalemercury.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/georgeR-120x86.jpg)
