12 February 2023 , 21:46
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Residents of a road allegedly rife with violence, theft and drug addiction have told of their concerns for their children's' safety.
Slade Road, in Birmingham, joins the Stockland Green and Gravely Hill neighbourhoods in the north of the city and has built up a reputation for being a rough area.
Andy, 56, a resident of Slade Road for 22 years, told the Daily Star the road has a "bad reputation".
“My youngest lad, his mates aren’t allowed to come here because their parents have heard of Slade Road. He has to go to theirs.”
Parents in the area stressed their concern for their children’s safety - be it from violence, cars driving fast down the narrow street, or prostitutes wandering about.
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“My one lad was up at the park with his mates and a couple of guys come over – older than them – and started on them, trying to get stuff out of my kid's pockets,” Andy said.
"They picked the wrong kid.
Parents in the area stressed their concern for their children’s safety (Harry Thompson)
The area has a reputation for being 'rough' (Harry Thompson)“Another one of his mates got stabbed in the leg for his mobile phone just off Slade road. It’s not the nicest of roads.
“My wife won’t even cross the road to go to the shop because she doesn’t feel safe.
“It’s just not nice, there are alcoholics and addicts everywhere.”
He continued: “When I walk down the street I constantly get stopped and asked if I know where to get drugs from, and I say ‘do I look like a druggy?’”
He discussed how you had to have a certain attitude to live in the area: “If you’re timid, weak or scared you’re not gonna last out here.
“If they see you walking down [the street] scared you’re not gonna last,” he said, noting how on Sunday afternoons gangs of 30 “youths” on motorbikes would tear along the street causing havoc in the road.
“My youngest’s girlfriend lives in Stoke, and he spends more time up there than here. He hates coming back here.
One resident said you could frequently smell weed on the street (Harry Thompson)“He says you know when you’re back here because you can smell weed on the road.”
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Many residents said things got a lot worse after dark, with one man telling of how people post up and drink on the street outside the corner shop they bought booze from.
Pointing to the store, the retired resident in his 60s added: “Someone stole a case of drink [standing on the pavement from a delivery] and ran down the road.
“They just picked it up and walked off. There’s too much thieving going on.”
Another father, in his forties and who had lived on Slade Road for two years, explained how he was the only one from his house who would leave to go to the shop.
He said the rough road posed a threat to kids with cars driving far too fast down the street.
“I have children. I worry about my children. Most of the time I go buy stuff myself,” he told the Star.
“I don’t allow my kids to be on the street and to be crossing the street on their own.”
At night, he said he’d been followed by someone as he got off the bus from the gym.
He said: “I’m a big guy, I can look after myself, but I’m always vigilant and when I’m out and about I try to be alert to what’s going on around me.”
Another man, 56 and sitting in a chair on the pavement in the sun, told of how sex workers would offer their services for as little as £5 and how there were “drunkards and crackheads” all around.
Not everyone was unhappy about the street though.
Amelia appeared to be in her twenties and was pushing a pram along it when she spoke to the Star, having only moved to temporary accommodation in the area around a week ago.
“It’s alright, I’ve not had any problems. I haven’t spoken to anyone," she said.
Asked whether it got rough after dark she said: “Yeah, I suppose, but that’s like anywhere in Birmingham.”