A DRUGS den has been closed by police after months of misery for residents.

The flat in Ashton Rise, Brighton, is closed to the public until July.

Its previous tenant breached the conditions of an order.

Joseph Cullip, 39, was arrested and charged with failing to comply with the closure order by entering the premises in Nelson Place shortly after it had been served last month.

He appeared at Brighton Magistrates’ Court on April 20 and pleaded guilty.

He was fined £100.

The flat had become a hub of trouble under Cullip’s tenancy, with antisocial behaviour, drug taking and disorder just some of the issues that arose while he was living there.

Police became aware of these problems and took action under the Antisocial Behaviour Crime and Policing Act 2014 and the case was heard at Brighton Magistrates’ Court in April.

The three-month order prevents any person from entering the flat until July 19.

When The Argus visited the area yesterday, residents said they were “extremely happy” Cullip was no longer living there and that the ground floor flat was closed.

PC Andy Chapman, from the Brighton prevention team, said: “The occupier and those visiting the flat were making the neighbours’ lives a misery causing antisocial behaviour and drug misuse at the address.

“We worked with the local authority to gain a closure order on the flat which will help prevent this behaviour from continuing.”