UK's roughest estate where yobs, 10, rip pigeons apart and squash rats in park

09 November 2023 , 15:57

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Blakenall Heath, Walsall, where youths have been causing misery or residents (Image: SWNS)

An estate where unruly youngsters tear live pigeons apart has been dubbed "Britain's roughest" by a travel vlogger who discovered a squashed rat in a children's park.

Residents of Blakenall Heath Walsall, West Midlands, have likened the area to 'war-torn Ukraine ' saying knife-wielding youths as young as 10 are causing misery. Yobs have been blighting the estate for the past three years, locals say.

A YouTuber who recently visited the crime-ridden area labelled Blakenall Heath 'Britain's roughest estate' based on his own experience. The UK Explored channel, which provides tours of cities and towns across the country, described the estate as feeling and smelling dangerous, with a crime rate twice the UK average.

The presenter even found a squashed dead rat in a children's play park while filming in the area. He said: "To be honest it scared me. The moment I walked on to Dawson Street a woman told me to 'f*** off'.

Residents said they were living in fear in their own homes (SWNS)

"She made a call on her phone and I didn't wait to see who she was calling and made a quick exit. There are 400 crimes reported each month in Blakenall alone. Most of which are violent offences and antisocial behaviour.

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"When I googled the news for the area it was nothing short of shocking. 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.

"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."

Walsall's crime rate is 151 crime reports per 1,000 people, according to official police data, with the UK average being 75.8. On an average month in 2022, there were up to 60 burglaries.

Local resident Andy Bloxham, 38, said: "I think it's a fair reflection of the area. The video makes it look worse than it is but there's no denying it's rough as anything. It's a shame as there's some lovely people here, we've just got more than our fair share of mindless idiots bringing the area down.

"People shouldn't be living in fear in their own homes. Its been a year since our little estate first made headlines and since then nothing has changed. It's still the same. If anything these gangs see being named Britain's roughest estate as a badge of honour."

The estate was named "Britain's roughest" by a travel vlogger (SWNS)

Locals previously told how their lives were blighted by violence and anti-social behaviour and they are too scared to leave their homes - even in the daytime. It followed a string of incidents including arson attacks, fly-tipping, thefts, assaults, racist attacks and vandalism. Residents said the area had also become a 'no-go zone' for police because their squad cars get pelted with bricks.

One local resident, who did not wish to be named, said: "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. 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.

"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."

A local shopkeeper, who wished to remain anonymous, said: "I have lost staff members who just can't face being abused on a daily basis. "They come in and steal eggs and then use those eggs to pelt the shop. We get racially abused too, we've just had enough."

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Independent Blakenall ward councillor Pete Smith compared the situation to a war-torn country, saying: "its like something from war-torn Ukraine." He added: "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."

West Midlands Police implemented a 48-hour dispersal order for Blakenall after violence erupted on November 2 and youths threw bricks at police cars. In July, a man was stabbed in nearby Bloxwich, and Bailey Atkinson, a local resident, was fatally stabbed in Walsall in January. A 13 year old boy was left permanently blind after being stabbed in the eye outside a fish and chip shop in Blakenall last August.

Adam Dutton