A nightmare neighbour has been banned from having her friends over after their prank calls saw armed police scrambled to her home.
Kirklees Council was forced to take action to have the group of up to 15 barred from the block of flats in Smallwood Gardens in Shaw Cross, Dewsbury.
Police - including an armed response unit - have been deployed to the property at least nine times in the last eight weeks.
Hoax calls by Megan Folley’s associates included a complaint that there was a man outside with a gun and a claim that people were trapped inside a burning property.
Kirklees magistrates were told that constant visits from emergency services had left residents feeling frightened.
They made a closure order, banning any unauthorised visitors from entering the housing block.
David Stickley, prosecuting on behalf of the council, told magistrates that some of the flats in the building are still council-owned while others are privately rented.
Ms Folley, who was not present at court, rents her flat from a private landlord and moved in early September.
Mr Stickley said that the problems started straight away as the people visiting her caused a nuisance and made life difficult for her neighbours.
He told magistrates: “A vulnerable 90-year-old lives directly below her and has been affected along with other able-bodied residents.
“They said they are getting no sleep because of people shouting and banging on their doors.
“They are scared by the presence of the fire service and armed police officers.
“Police have had a lot of nuisance reports and this is a drain on their resources.
“A lot of calls have been made that are exaggerated or even hoax calls.
“There have been nuisance reports of people with guns there and reports of theft.
“Police have better things to do than wasting their time on false calls.”
Hoax calls to the flats have cost taxpayers thousands of pounds.
One resident was shocked to see an officer with a gun outside his window at 1am after the armed response unit from Wakefield was deployed there.
On another occasion drunk Ms Folley burnt a pizza, causing some smoke inside her flat.
But three fire engines arrived after the situation was exaggerated to people being trapped inside the building.
Mr Stickley said that Ms Folley’s friends arrive and bang and shout at residents’ doors when they are not buzzed into the building.
He said that the closure order is to keep unwanted individuals out and not to evict Ms Folley, as this decision is up to her landlord.
The three month order prohibits unauthorised access to flats 9 to 14 and the communal areas of the building, except from anybody acting in a professional capacity.
Police will enforce this order and notices will go up in the block to make all residents aware of it.
