OFSTED has confirmed that it has imposed a temporary closure on a children’s home in Four Marks.

The closure is thought to follow a series of incidents at the Benjamin Homes property on Telegraph Lane, with regular reports by neighbouring residents of vulnerable young people on the roof, fires, noise and fighting.

In August, two teenage boys absconded from the home and, most recently, neighbours were awoken in the early hours of Monday morning to another incident involving police.

Owned and run by Benjamin UK Ltd, this in one of two local homes - the other is in Boyneswood Road, Medstead, with a third due to open on Winchester Road, Four Marks - licensed by Ofsted to provide “24-hour wraparound therapeutic residential placements as well as therapeutic education for young people who, due to early childhood trauma, mental health problems and in particular attachment related problems, have difficulty reaching their full potential”.

Founded in 2004, Benjamin UK is the brainchild of company founder, Claudette Deysel who, in 2013, won the Natwest Everywoman Award for her visionary approach to “running a business with a clearly defined social or ethical purpose” - in this case promoting the rights of vulnerable children.

But the Four Marks home appears to be falling far short of this goal, drawing into question the level and standard of care.

As the only organisation able to exert control over these homes, Ofsted carried out a monitoring visit of the Telegraph Lane premises early last week and, as a result, has “suspended its registration, which means it is closed temporarily”.

A statement from Ofsted read: “The children who were in the home have been re-accommodated appropriately.”

It is a cause of frustration for local councillors that, because the children are not from within the county, Hampshire County Council has no right to intervene.

A spokesman for the county council said: “Benjamin Homes are independent, privately-run children’s homes regulated by the Department for Education and inspected by Ofsted and, as such, the local authority has no direct powers over the leadership and management of the homes.

“Furthermore, children from Hampshire are not placed in these homes.

“Any concerns about the welfare of a child, or any immediate safeguarding issues, should be reported to the county council. These would be investigated in accordance with our standard procedures, working closely with the police and the child’s local authority where necessary.”

A Freedom of Information Request by The Herald to Hampshire Constabulary has since revealed that the police are unable to release incident data relating to the care homes on the basis that this could “create a fear of crime within the local community therefore compromising the law enforcement capabilities of the force and affecting the multi-agency approach to dealing with incidents and the individuals based at the homes in question”.

Benjamin Homes was yet to respond by the time the Herald went to press.