Ashmount Primary School’s abandoned building is a “magnet” for anti-social behaviour.
Ilyas Mohamed, a security guard for the derelict site, said that the building is beginning to attract petty crime after its closure over two years ago.
“It’s a big trouble with young people, like a magnet. Lots of people, 16 and 17-years-old, come here and drink.
“Last week, I went out the back for two minutes and they sprayed graffiti out the front. I got into so much trouble.”
Mr Mohamed and other security guards were employed for 24-hour surveillance of the site after over 100 squatters took over the building last year.
The dilapidated school was abandoned in 2012 after it was deemed unfit for purpose by school governors.
Ashmount’s former chair of governors David Barry said: “The building is completely clad in glass and there was a real possibility that sheets of it might start falling four storeys into the playground.
“The fabric of the old building had deteriorated to the point that it was actually becoming dangerous.”
Aside from problems of crime and safety, local residents have complained about the sordid appearance of the building.
“It’s an eyesore,” said Joshua Burton, who lives on neighbouring street Hornsey Road. “The graffiti, the dirty windows…I can’t imagine any of it is exactly boosting nearby housing prices.”
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