{"id":133515,"date":"2023-11-15T00:09:06","date_gmt":"2023-11-15T00:09:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bluemull.com\/?p=133515"},"modified":"2023-11-15T00:09:06","modified_gmt":"2023-11-15T00:09:06","slug":"inside-britains-roughest-estate-where-gangs-run-riot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bluemull.com\/world-news\/inside-britains-roughest-estate-where-gangs-run-riot\/","title":{"rendered":"Inside Britain&apos;s roughest estate where gangs run riot"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1>Inside Britain&#8217;s roughest estate where gangs run riot, police cars are pelted with bricks and a squashed rat decorates children&#8217;s play area<\/h1>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Blakenall Heath, in Walsall, is plagued with knife-wielding gangs<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Residents say the town has become a &#8216;no-go zone&#8217; for local police\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>READ MORE:\u00a0Britain&#8217;s &#8216;ROUGHEST&#8217; estate is likened to &#8216;war-torn Ukraine&#8217;<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>A housing estate where gangs run riot and rip live pigeons apart has been named &#8216;Britain&#8217;s roughest&#8217; by a travel vlogger who found a squashed rat in a kid&#8217;s park.<\/p>\n<p>Residents in Blakenall Heath, in Walsall, have told how they are living in fear in their area which has been compared to &#8216;war-torn Ukraine&#8217;.<\/p>\n<p>They say their lives have been plagued by gangs of knife-wielding youths, some as young as 10, who have been causing havoc for the past three years.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Residents said the area had also become a \u2018no-go zone\u2019 for police because their squad cars get pelted with bricks.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>A Youtuber who has now visited the crime-stricken area branded Blakenall Heath &#8216;Britain&#8217;s roughest estate&#8217; off the back of his own experience.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/11\/09\/17\/77615187-12730193-image-a-1_1699550089669.jpg\" height=\"357\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Residents in Blakenall Heath, in Walsall, have told how they are living in fear in their area which has been compared to &#8216;war-torn Ukraine &#8216;<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/11\/09\/17\/77615197-12730193-image-a-2_1699550094284.jpg\" height=\"357\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Locals\u00a0say their lives have been plagued by gangs of knife-wielding youths, some as young as 10<\/p>\n<h3>READ MORE:\u00a0Britain&#8217;s &#8216;ROUGHEST&#8217; estate is likened to &#8216;war-torn Ukraine&#8217;, as locals live in constant fear from arson and knife attacks as &#8216;lawless&#8217; streets are roamed by knife-wielding yobs as young as 10 who are known to tear apart live PIGEONS<\/h3>\n<p>The UK Explored channel, which gives tours of cities and towns across the country, said the estate &#8216;felt and smelt dangerous&#8217; with a crime rate double the UK average.<\/p>\n<p>The presenter even goes on to discover a flattened dead rat in a children&#8217;s play park while filming around the area.<\/p>\n<p>He says: &#8216;To be honest it scared me. The moment I walked on to Dawson Street a woman told me to &#8216;f*** off&#8217;.<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;She made a call on her phone and I didn&#8217;t wait to see who she was calling and made a quick exit.<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;There are 400 crimes reported each month in Blakenall alone. Most of which are violent offences and antisocial behaviour.<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;When I googled the news for the area it was nothing short of shocking.<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;There were stories of people being shot at and children tearing up pigeons and throwing them into the chippy. And a young kid was blinded after being stabbed.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/11\/09\/17\/77615205-12730193-image-a-3_1699550097628.jpg\" height=\"357\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Residents said the area had also become a \u2018no-go zone\u2019 for police because their squad cars get pelted with bricks<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/11\/09\/17\/77615201-12730193-image-a-4_1699550102176.jpg\" height=\"357\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>One resident said: &#8216;People shouldn&#8217;t be living in fear in their own homes. It&#8217;s been a year since our little estate first made headlines and since then nothing has changed&#8217;<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/11\/09\/17\/77615185-12730193-image-a-5_1699550112186.jpg\" height=\"357\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>The area has suffered a string of incidents including arson attacks, fly-tipping, thefts, assaults, racist attacks and vandalism<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;Blakenall is certainly one of the most dangerous estates in the country. It felt dangerous, it smelt dangerous and I was happy to move on.&#8217;<\/p>\n<p>The video goes on to describe Walsall as one of Britain&#8217;s most dangerous towns with a crime rate of 152 per 1,000 people, which is worse than Birmingham.<\/p>\n<p>Local resident Andy Bloxham, 38, said: &#8216;I think it&#8217;s a fair reflection of the area. The video makes it look worse than it is but there&#8217;s no denying it&#8217;s rough as anything.<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;Its a shame as there&#8217;s some lovely people here, we&#8217;ve just got more than our fair share of mindless idiots bringing the area down.<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;People shouldn&#8217;t be living in fear in their own homes. It&#8217;s been a year since our little estate first made headlines and since then nothing has changed.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/11\/09\/17\/77615203-12730193-image-a-6_1699550120367.jpg\" height=\"357\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>One shopkeeper, who also did not want to be named for fear of reprisals, added: &#8216;I have lost staff members who just can&#8217;t face being abused on a daily basis<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/11\/09\/17\/77615193-12730193-image-a-7_1699550127468.jpg\" height=\"357\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>West Midlands Police brought in a 48-hour dispersal order for Blakenall after violence flared on November 2<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/11\/09\/17\/77615195-12730193-image-a-8_1699550129869.jpg\" height=\"357\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>One local man said: &#8216;We&#8217;ve just got more than our fair share of mindless idiots bringing the area down&#8217;<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;It&#8217;s still the same. If anything these gangs see being named Britain&#8217;s roughest estate as a badge of honour.&#8217;<\/p>\n<p>Locals previously told how their lives were blighted by violence and anti-social behaviour and they are too scared to leave their homes &#8211; even in the daytime.<\/p>\n<p>It followed a string of incidents including arson attacks, fly-tipping, thefts, assaults, racist attacks and vandalism.<\/p>\n<p>Residents said the area had also become a \u2018no-go zone\u2019 for police because their squad cars get pelted with bricks.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>One local resident, who did not wish to be named, said: &#8216;It had got to the point where we are scared to leave our homes even in the daytime.<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;The place has just rapidly declined into almost a state of lawlessness since the pandemic.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/11\/09\/17\/62735709-12730193-Businesses_have_also_been_pelted_with_eggs_flour_and_bricks_caus-a-9_1699550175853.jpg\" height=\"419\" width=\"306\"><br \/>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/11\/09\/17\/62732783-12730193-Tormented_residents_and_business_owners_are_now_demanding_action-a-10_1699550175868.jpg\" height=\"419\" width=\"306\"><\/p>\n<p>Businesses have also been pelted with eggs, flour and bricks causing damage to property while buses, taxis and cars also routinely get attacked<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/11\/09\/17\/62722197-12730193-Gary_Brookes_Walsall_Housing_Group_s_director_of_housing_said_We-a-11_1699550180215.jpg\" height=\"422\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Gary Brookes, Walsall Housing Group&#8217;s director of housing said: &#8216;We are really concerned about ongoing issues in this area regarding criminal activity and antisocial behaviour&#8217;<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/11\/09\/17\/62735699-12730193-West_Midlands_Police_say_they_are_stepping_up_patrols_and_using_-a-12_1699550182535.jpg\" height=\"426\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>West Midlands Police say they are stepping up patrols and using dispersal orders to try and control the issues<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/11\/09\/17\/62722187-12730193-Only_19_per_cent_of_houses_in_Blakenall_are_owner_occupied_and_t-a-13_1699550186153.jpg\" height=\"409\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Only 19 per cent of houses in Blakenall are owner-occupied and the population density is is higher than surrounding areas<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;Before then we did have issues but not to the scale we are seeing now. It&#8217;s like a war-zone out there at times.<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;It&#8217;s just diabolical &#8211; but that&#8217;s Blakenhall for you. It&#8217;s become a no-go zone for police and that is what is most worrying. You just don&#8217;t go out after 3pm.&#8217;<\/p>\n<p>One shopkeeper, who also did not want to be named for fear of reprisals, added: &#8216;I have lost staff members who just can&#8217;t face being abused on a daily basis.<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;They come in and steal eggs and then use those eggs to pelt the shop. We get racially abused too, we&#8217;ve just had enough.&#8217;<\/p>\n<p>Independent Blakenall ward councillor Pete Smith previously said &#8216;it&#8217;s like something from war-torn Ukraine.&#8217;<\/p>\n<p>He added: &#8216;There was also this poor pigeon that had its head ripped off outside a shop before they pulled its wings off and just ripped it to pieces.&#8217;<\/p>\n<p>West Midlands Police brought in a 48-hour dispersal order for Blakenall after violence flared on November 2 and youths pelted police cars with bricks.<\/p>\n<p>In July, in nearby Bloxwich, a man was knifed and Bailey Atkinson, also local to the area, was stabbed to death in Walsall in January.<\/p>\n<p>A 13-year-old boy was also left permanently blind after being stabbed in the eye outside a fish and chip shop in Blakenall last August.<\/p>\n<p>Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/news\/article-12730193\/Inside-Britains-roughest-estate-gangs-run-riot-police-cars-pelted-bricks-squashed-rat-decorates-childrens-play-area.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Read Full Article<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Inside Britain&#8217;s roughest estate where gangs run riot, police cars are pelted with bricks and a squashed rat decorates children&#8217;s&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.8 - 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