A house that was the scene of a stabbing after a ‘group fight’ during an AirBnb party had been the subject of dozens of complaints from residents in the lead up to the attack, it is alleged.
As the News has reported, officers are working under the assumption the victim, a 26-year-old who was driven to a nearby hospital, was attacked during a party in the Denmark Hill home on June 15.
He was initially considered to be in a critical condition but has since been discharged from hospital after the incident during lockdown.
Police say it is only luck that prevented the stabbing from becoming a murder investigation.
Three people, in their 20s, were arrested on suspicion of GBH but have now all been bailed.
One resident claimed to the News that complaints to the landlord, Lambeth Council, and police had not prevented the landlord from continuing to rent the property out via AirBnB, where a large groups of 40 or more gathered with alleged loud music and drug taking.
The News has seen numerous complaints highlighting alleged issues including noise, lockdown restrictions being broken, and trespassing on neighbouring properties in the fortnight before the stabbing.
Police and the council were called several times on the night of the attack by nearby households, it is claimed, with residents alleging they regularly see the property being rented out for weekends only with cleaners arriving first thing on Monday morning.
One local appealed for help via the app NextDoor around seven days before the stabbing, it is claimed, saying noise, litter, and cars parked in residents’ spaces were causing concern.
“We are long term residents in the area but sadly this situation is bringing me and my elderly parents, who are in the late eighties, down.
“They are not getting much sleep or peace at the moment.”