Celebrity residents claim their lives are being made a misery by drink and drug-fuelled Thameside “beach parties”.
Neighbours in apartment blocks in Limehouse, who include actor and playwright Steven Berkoff and newsreader John Suchet, say they have been forced to call the police dozens of times because of noise and anti-social behaviour.
Gates leading to the shoreline on the Isle of Dogs are usually closed at night, apart from one near Narrow Street.
A month ago residents took matters into their own hands and at sunset began locking the gate and reopening it in the morning.
But Tower Hamlets council responded by removing the gate on safety grounds and leaving the area open 24 hours.
Berkoff, 82, whose plays include Greek, Sink The Belgrano and an adaptation of Kafkas Metamorphosis, said: “We have had groups of people smoking seriously strong drugs under our balcony with the smell drifting in through our windows, couples having sex under our balcony.
“People are constantly urinating against our home.
“Weve been sworn at and threatened and had to call police on a number of occasions.
“Recently my wife confronted a group who screamed f*** off you rich c*** at her.
“Of course people come to the beach in the daytime and make noise and sunbathe and we dont mind that at all. But at night its awful.”
Suchet said: “I am not affected by the anti-social behaviour because of where my home is, but I know my neighbours lives are being made a misery.
“It seems very odd to remove the gate and in my opinion extremely dangerous.”
A Tower Hamlets spokesman said: “We encourage anyone experiencing anti-social behaviour to report incidents on our website or to the police.
“If the gate is locked and there is a member of the public on the beach, they may become trapped with no means of exit.”
