THE damage caused by vandals to a Nunsthorpe house is the worst local estate agent Harp Chatha has ever seen.
But Mr Chatha, who lets properties across North East Lincolnshire, insists that the estate is no worse than in many other towns and cities across the country.
Mr Chatha, the owner of Aston Estates, told the Grimsby Telegraph about the "carnage" caused to the house on Winthorpe Road, which was targeted within 24 hours of the occupants leaving.
He spoke out after watching the recent ITV documentary Exposure: Driven From Home, about life on the Nunsthorpe estate. As reported, it caused a mixed reaction among residents, community figureheads and politicians.
Speaking about the damage, Mr Chatha said: "The wall between the bedroom and bathroom had been knocked out, the windows had been shattered and all the pipework and electricals had gone.
"The damage that has been done has not been done to steal. It's been done randomly just to cause carnage.
"In my experience this is the most damage I've seen to any property throughout my career."
But he added: "It's not just the Nunsthorpe. This happens in every city and town round the country."
As reported in yesterday's Grimsby Telegraph, a fire sparked by arsonists gutted another house, at the junction of Winthorpe Road and Redbourne Road.
Residents said more should be done by the authorities to prevent privately-owned homes from falling into disrepair.
Meanwhile, Mr Chatha claimed undercover reporters who lived on the Nunsthorpe Estate while filming the ITV documentary left without paying the full terms of their tenancy agreement.
He told the Grimsby Telegraph that he let a property on Milton Road to a Tom Randall and a Claire Adams on a six-month contract. He claimed the pair "fed him a lie" about moving from London to get away from Claire's ex-partner, and then vacated the house after paying rent for just the first three months.
Mr Chatha said: "These people go on TV preaching about crime and anti-social behaviour and yet they have breached a six-month tenancy agreement."
Mr Chatha said that although he had suspicions about the pair, who insisted on a property in Nunsthorpe, he finally discovered their true identity after being tipped off by locals on the estate, who told him about them secretly filming inside the Nunsthorpe Tavern.
But by that time the pair – whose names appeared on the closing credits of the programme – had disappeared, and the phone numbers they provided to Aston Estates turned out to be false.
Mr Chatha said: "We are now having to chase ITV to recoup the three months' rent that the landlord is entitled to. It was all a bit sneaky and underhand."
A spokesman for ITV said: "The reporters are clear that they honoured the agreement they had with the agency regarding their rent."
