A PRIVATE security firm has been called in by a local authority to protect houses that were to be occupied by two members of a so-called family from hell.
Stirling Council said the move followed discussions with police after several thousand pounds worth of damage was inflicted on two houses in a Bannockburn estate due to be occupied by a daughter and former husband of ''Big Mags Haney''.
Feelings have been running high in Bannockburn after it was confirmed that Ms Valerie Haney, 30, and Mags Haney's ex-husband John, had been allocated houses within 800 yards of each other in Bogend Road and Douglas Street.
A petition was raised and poster campaign begun after news of the council's plans to house the Haneys became clear. Almost 800 residents attended a public meeting to vent their anger at the council's plan.
The day before about 300 residents gathered in Bogend Road to greet Ms Haney as she arrived with paint and wallpaper for her new home. Hours before several windows were smashed and rooms trashed in the property in a bid to deter her from taking up residence.
A council spokesman yesterday confirmed that the two Haney family members had moved back into temporary accommodation in the Stirling area until some settlement is reached between the council, residents in Bannockburn, and the family.
He said: ''We want to protect the property following the damage caused and try to alleviate the fears of the local people. The decision to employ the security firm has come about following discussions with the police. The firm will remain there for as long as there is a need.''
He refused to disclose the cost of using the security firm's services but said housing benefit would be used to pay for the temporary accommodation.
The spokesman said the Falkirk-based private security firm would patrol the area where the houses had been allocated between 5pm and 9am while the local housing office was closed. The situation is to be reviewed after the weekend.
The 16-strong Haney family, many of whom have criminal convictions, were hounded out of their home in Stirling's Raploch estate last year, following a campaign by residents who alleged the family had spent years terrorising the neighbourhood.
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