‘We live in the UK’s grimmest village – it’s full of rubbish and drunks’
People in the ‘grimmest village in the UK’ say it’s covered in rubbish, dog poo and overrun with drug dealers.
Featherstone in south Staffordshire is surrounded by three prisons but those who live there say the inmates are the lucky ones.
Villagers say they’re used to seeing alcoholics and drug-users collapsing in the street – and many fear going out after dark.
The village’s historic pub, the Red, White and Blue, was closed and remains bordered up with smashed windows and surrounded by security fences.
Rubbish is strewn on pavements and blows into gardens, while houses are left to crumble – literally. One derelict semi-detached house on Cannock Road appears to have been cut clean in half with the upstairs bedroom at the mercy of the weather.
A newly built bus shelter was recently set on fire, and residents have complained of increasing numbers of potholes appearing in the roads.
Life-long resident Dean Proffitt, 62, said: ‘I often say that this would be a nice place to live if it wasn’t for the drunks and the smack heads.
‘They are everywhere and it’s upsetting to see. I’ve lived here on and off for years and it’s certainly got worse. There’s rubbish everywhere and people spewing up everywhere. There’s no point telling the police because they won’t do anything about it.’
Rachel Canning, 51, blames the council for failing to keep the village clean. She said: ‘It doesn’t look as if the council come out enough to cut the grassed areas anymore, clean up the litter or empty the dog mess bins.
‘The dog bins are full up and there is dog poo all over the village. I don’t know if they are people coming into the village or people who live here who have just given up.
‘You’ll go into the next village Shareshill and it’s beautiful. It’s looked after, it’s a shame ours isn’t. The state of our village is awful, there’s drug abuse, people picking up and selling drugs. It’s atrocious.
‘I understand it happens everywhere but it’s really bad here. You’re frightened to walk your dog at night. We had our van stolen off our drive. There are constant break-ins and always people checking doors and car handles but the police are not interested.’
Dave Bethell, 74, said: ‘For a start, the pub’s closed so we don’t have a pub in the village. I’ve heard the council is going to knock it down and build another supermarket. There’s drugs everywhere.’
Pensioner Alex Tenn, 73, said: ‘There was supposed to be a bypass built but it never was. As a result big lorries come down past people’s houses causing constant noise. It’s stressful for people.’
Another said: ‘On the whole, the people are friendly but the place looks and feels really down.
‘It needs a good clear out. Outside my house is a car bonnet and bumper which have been there for three weeks now.
‘I moved here from Nottingham last November but I wish I’d never moved here. It just seems unloved, people aren’t taking a pride in the area.’
Shopworker Thomas Rowe, 30, said: ‘Featherstone is not just a dump, it’s died on it’s a*se. I think that’s why people are depressed because the majority of people here are decent folk.’
Despite having a population of more than 4,000, Featherstone is still known as a village.
In the 1920s a new mine was opened which saw the population rise from just 39 residents to more than 3,000 a few years later.
Since January this year there have been 39 violent and sexual offences, 13 vehicle crimes, six thefts and five case of criminal damage and arson.
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