We live in ‘Britain’s worst estate’ where gangs of thugs run rampant & raging junkies terrorise kids… no one will help
RESIDENTS in what’s been dubbed Britain’s worst estate are afraid to go out as they are surrounded by crime, drug use and anti-social behaviour.
People in Millard Terrace in Dagenham, East London, say that they “don’t feel safe” and that criminals are “all over the place” – while homeless junkies live in their stairwells.
Tom Noble, 29, who has lived in the area his whole life, told The Sun Online: “It’s the whole area now.
“It’s always been here, it’s just got worse over the years.
“There’s drug use in the stairwells – just general crime everywhere. I think someone got stabbed on the hill yesterday.”
Tom added that he has found needles in the stairways, where people shoot up with hard drugs before passing out.
Asked how, if at all, the problem could be solved, he joked: “Knocking the place down… people just don’t care.”
Just down the terrace, Tom’s neighbour Sandra Dolinska, 32, agreed that the problems on the estate are out of hand.
The mum-of-one said she doesn’t feel safe going out after dark or letting her young son play in the area.
She explained: “There is crime in the stairways and all over the place.
“After like 6 or 7pm I am too scared to go downstairs. People are living there, sitting there, using the corridors as a toilet.
“The police are always here. When my son plays outside he keeps finding needles.
“People that sleep there chase him. It’s really not safe to stay here.
“I’ve been robbed a few times already, I’ve had my bike stolen, my clothes stolen.
“It’s not safe to raise a child in this kind of environment. There’s a lot of junkies, my son keeps finding needles and pipes everywhere.”
Sandra added that she had “no idea” of the problems when she moved in, but they have only become worse in her two years living there.
She also claimed that residents have complained to the council multiple times but there has been no meaningful response given or improvements made.
On top of all the crime, Sandra, who suffers from asthma and chronic pain, said that her health was being affected because large cracks keep appearing in her home.
She alleged that one crack was big enough to put her hand out of and the damage means that she is spending “more than I can afford” on extra heating and repair work, while she has been hospitalised multiple times with infections that she blames on the cold conditions.
According to Sandra, the council and her landlord each say it is the other’s responsibility, while she and other residents recently received a letter saying that they might have to move out for repair work to be done.
A spokesperson for Barking and Dagenham Council said: “We have and continue to work closely with the police to engage and consult with residents on concerns they have reported about anti-social behaviour and crime.
“As a result, we made an application to the Courts to impose a closure order. The order was granted and gives police the powers to arrest any person committing any act of anti-social behaviour (ASB) in Millard Terrace. The order was initially for three months and has now been extended.
“We are also exploring with our legal team ways to consider wider powers to restrain and ban persons who have been dealt with by police and have no reason to be there.
“We continue to provide targeted community safety and dog patrols – high visibility patrols are taking place at the times we are aware rough sleepers are ‘bedding down’ and using the area to commit ASB. As a result of these patrols, we have seen some positive impact in terms of dispersing the activity.
“Residents have reported issues of cleanliness to us and in response we have secured funding to carry out some redecoration in and around the stairwells and other public areas. An improvement plan has also been put in place for the caretakers on the block.
“We take the welfare of our tenants and residents very seriously and when complaints are made, they are logged, the tenant is given a reference number and they are informed of what the works will be and when it will be carried out.”
They added that the council secured £10.8million in Levelling Up funding and are planning to redevelop parts of the borough.
A “Test of Opinion” submitted to residents of Millard Terrace found 75% in favour of redevelopment, according to the council.
It comes after residents of another London estate told of how they found guns in the street and rats invading their flats.
Meanwhile, there were shocking stories from locals of an estate in Walsall, West Midlands who described gangs of kids as young as ten tearing live pigeons apart.
Nearby, the owner of a chip shop said that the yobs sometimes threw the dead birds into his shop in a vile campaign of harassment