Shola Lee
Residents have described near-apocalyptic scenes at one of 'Britain's roughest estates' where live pigeons are torn apart.
Days seem bleak at the Blakenhall estate in Walsall, West Midlands, with kids as young as 10 hurling racist slurs at residents.
Now the local community is demanding action against a string of incidents, which include arson, fly-tipping, and theft.
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One resident said things started going downhill at the estate during the pandemic: "It had got to the point where we are scared to leave our homes even in the daytime.
"The place has just rapidly declined into almost a state of lawlessness since the pandemic."
The resident admitted: "Before then we did have issues but not to the scale we are seeing now. It's like a war zone out there at times."
And this 'war zone' includes a fire started at a mum's house that left her and her children too scared to return.
As the resident continued to explain, it doesn't look like things are getting better anytime soon, as shops keepers are regularly abused, rubbish is dumped in the streets, and shelters are smashed up.
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"The kids are running riot and they find it funny when police arrive. People are saying it's the roughest estate in Britain and I'm not sure I could argue with that.
"But these kids will wear that like a badge of honour. It's only a matter of time before somebody gets killed around here. There are fights on a daily basis," the concerned community member said.
A mum of seven echoed these sentiments, saying: "It's the younger kids causing the most problems.
"They get a buzz from it when the police arrive – but the police end up running away because they get pelted with bricks.
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"So we don't feel protected here. My daughter lives opposite where all the rubbish was and she had rats in her kitchen.
"It's just diabolical – but that's Blakenhall for you. It's become a no-go zone for police and that is what is most worrying. You just don't go out after 3pm."
However, West Midlands Police say that they're trying to help the neighbourhood Inspector Phil Upton, from the Walsall Neighbourhood Team, said: "We are aware of growing concern around instances of appalling behaviour by a small minority of young people in the Blakenall area.
"We understand how upsetting and worrying this can be and we have been carrying out extra patrols in the area to discourage further incidents and help with our ongoing enquiries.
"Officers have also been liaising closely with our partners in the area, including Walsall Council, local housing providers and youth services as we work to confirm the identity of those involved.
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"We have also been using dispersal orders in the area to remove and deter those identified as responsible.
"Our work to tackle this issue is continuing and evolving, with further increased patrols planned along with targeted action to curb this totally unacceptable behaviour."