Betis Sporting Director to step down amid Barca links

SWNS

Local residents living on “Britain’s roughest street” say it’s teeming with children being stabbed and drug addicts

Residents say they live in fear on “Britain’s roughest street” which is full of £5 prostitutes, teenagers being stabbed and drug addicts “everywhere”. Slade Road in Stockland Green, Birmingham is said to be a hotbed of violence and drugs that has fallen into disrepair in recent years. Locals say they are too scared to go out after dark after numerous assaults, street muggings and drug deals that take place even in broad daylight. People say they are also approached by cheap sex workers who peddle their business on the street for as little as a fiver. Parents are forced to drop their children off at the school gates and business owners are escorted to the post office for fear of being mugged for their earnings. Local residents also say drunk people and “zombie-like” addicts are constantly roaming the streets, and some are too scared to venture out into the shops alone during the day. They say the problem has worsened over the past decade and police are rarely seen on the street, which has been dubbed “Britain’s roughest”. Grandma-of-two Pam Round, 69, says she saw the street’s decline in her seven years at a Stockland Green Methodist Church cafe on Slade Road. She said: “I’ve been working at the community cafe for about seven years and in that time the road has only gotten worse and worse. “People tend to hang out on the streets and sit in doorways and you get this nervous feeling walking down them and it feels like a very sad area. “During the day I feel safe, but if I went down at night I don’t think I would feel safe. “People hang out in stores and at the post office and I know people are afraid to go out and shop. “There are two schools nearby and I know parents take their children to secondary school so they don’t get targeted by drug traffickers. “It happens in broad daylight and parents are afraid their children will fall in. “You don’t see the police here often, which is worrying. “We have people coming into the community cafe emotionally shattered from all the drugs and drink they’ve been on and we don’t know who to call. “It can be quite distressing and we’re not professionally trained to deal with it.” A woman who works at a corner shop down the street and wishes to remain anonymous said business is down due to the street’s bad reputation . She said: “This problem has accelerated in the last decade. “There are drunks everywhere and people who do drugs and they sell the drugs in broad daylight and something has to be done. “It’s getting out of hand and people are afraid to come forward, which is affecting businesses. “People can’t come out to shop for fear of being ambushed and unable to do their daily chores. “When they get money from the post office, they are afraid that it will be taken away from them. “The situation is very bad. We’ve had to take people to the post office to collect their money in the past so they don’t get attacked.” Another local, who asked to remain anonymous, added, “You gotta have your sanity around here, a badge of honor for these idiots . “The police hardly show a face here either, you can’t walk the streets without being offered sex or drugs.” It’s like in Amsterdam – only a million times more shady. I like to think I can take care of myself, but even I don’t bother going out after dark now.” As recently as January 19, a huge cannabis factory along Slade Road was blown up by police, leading to the discovery of £200,000 Yazir Mehmood, owner of Yaz Barbers, said smoking weed on the street was a big problem as the smell penetrated his shop.The 38-year-old said: “I’ve been the owner of the for 10 years Hairdressers and During that time the street just got worse. There are so many HMOs (multiple occupancy houses) in the area and they bring a lot of new people onto the streets every day. They also have a lot of released prisoners living there the street in daylight there are always a lot of drunk people and drug dealers.” People smoke weed in front of my barbers all the time and the smell gets into the shop and it’s horrible.” “I always go at 7pm because I know I know after Don’t feel safe walking down the street as more people have been drinking and using drugs at that time.” Pet shop owner Monica Phillips, 72, has run Birmingham Reptiles for 26 years on Slade Road and believes the problem lies with the people living in the HMOs. The mother of four said: “Drugs, drunks and prostitution, it all happens” We were broken into a few months ago and luckily we have them on CCTV but the police didn’t want to know about it.” “Last night a fly dumper happened behind our shop and we can’t do that at this time “The problem is definitely with the HMOs and all the new faces coming through that part because of them come from Birmingham. “You’re definitely very careful when you walk down the street. We get a lot of the customers saying they’re scared when they visit the store: ‘There’s been stabbings and muggings on that street in the last few years.’ “And I guess you get that everywhere as times change, but it’s definitely worse on Slade Road “The situation has definitely gotten worse since we took over this shop 26 years ago se.”