Nick Wisniewski used to have hundreds of neighbours but he is now the last man standing on a deserted housing estate.

The 66-year-old has watched 128 flats slowly empty as part of major plans to redevelop the area, with the last round of residents leaving in December.

Once buzzing with people, Stanhope Place, in Wishaw, near Glasgow, is now littered with dumped cookers, mattresses and washing machines.

‘It’s like a ghost town now,’ the retired TSB bank worker said.

‘It’s so quiet and strange being the only person living here. I’m used to it now, but it can get lonely, there is no one to speak to.’

North Lanarkshire Council has offered him £35,000 and to pay two years of rent if he moves on.

But Mr Wisniewski is set on staying in the flat he bought under the Right to Buy scheme in 2017, which saw the government helping council tenants become home-owners.

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Mr Wisniewski believes the money is not enough for him to buy somewhere outright.

He said: ‘You’re talking £80,000 to £100,000 to get somewhere new. I’m worried that I don’t know where I am going to end up living.

‘I didn’t work all my life to have my home taken from me when I am too old to get a mortgage on something else. It would be so hard to leave my home.’

While he hasn’t had any ‘trouble’ yet, Mr Wisniewski said there is no security, leaving the flats ripe for burglars.

A council spokesperson said: ‘We fully understand this is a sensitive issue and are working closely with the resident.

‘It would not be appropriate to discuss the specific financial details, but we are working in accordance with our policies to ensure the resident receives a fair deal and to support him so that he finds suitable alternative accommodation.’

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