RESIDENTS celebrating the eviction of a family say "the gloom has lifted" from their street after three years of turmoil.

The Mitchell family have been thrown out of their Efford home after Plymouth City Council won a bailiff order to claim back the house.

Residents in Thames Gardens have been fighting for almost three years to get the family evicted, complaining of persistent anti-social behaviour.

But they finally got their wish, as police turfed the Mitchells out, boarded up the council house and called in a removal firm to haul away everything left behind.

Mum-of-three Linda "left quietly" with her children before the authorities arrived, said jubilant neighbours, who described a shocking list of nuisances. Police involved in the eviction said the anti-social behaviour included stealing items from neighbours' gardens, persistent noise and numerous assaults – including on children.

Residents' lives had been made "an absolute misery", said Pc Al Roberts, neighbourhood beat manager for Efford.

Mrs Mitchell, 36, left with teenage tearaway son Charlie, aged 15, her 16-year-old daughter and youngest son, eight.

Plymouth City Council would not reveal the family's new whereabouts – or whether they would be living in council or private property.

The family left a bin full of food strewn over the pathway to their former home, while their names were scrawled on surfaces inside the empty kitchen. Little more than a television, hi-fi, sofa and mattresses were left inside the house.

They lived next door to an 82-year-old lady, while another elderly woman, 89, lives directly opposite. Neighbours said they had been scared to leave their houses for fear of abuse.

Phil Brown, chairman of the Thames Gardens Residents' Association, said residents had been waiting for the family to pack their bags for more than two years and feared their pleas would be in vain.

He said: "It was anti-social behaviour at its worst – we've had to put up with awful, awful things. I'm really happy for the residents and the elderly in our street, who've never seen anything like it in their lives. This is the result of a lot of hard work from the community."

Neighbour Jeff Petherbridge, who has lived in the Thames Gardens for 30 years, added: "It's been a hell of a couple of years but you could feel the gloom lift from the street as they drove off.

"I'm going to sit in the garden with a nice cold beer – today is a bit of a celebration really."

About a dozen people looked on in the sun as council workers removed doors and windows, fixing metal boarding in their place. Giant posters were strapped to the front of the house, part of a new scheme aimed at shaming such families.

Pc Roberts said the eviction marked a "positive result" for the community, but admitted gaining the bailiff order had been a frustrating two-year process.

"This family has been evicted as a result of prolonged anti-social behaviour," he said.

"Children out until the early hours, theft from neighbours' gardens, theft of pushbikes from other children, numerous assaults on other children – it's been ongoing. Lives have been made an absolute misery as a result of the behaviour.

"Today is the end of a very long struggle. At times it's been very frustrating, but – as a direct result of perseverance, teamwork and strong community support – we've won the day. If you engage in anti-social behaviour, if you have no parental responsibility, if you don't know how to behave among decent human beings then beware: you will be brought to justice."