Life on UK's 'unlucky street' plagued by poverty, drugs and parking fines

21 June 2023 , 17:02

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The High Street has one of the worst crime rates in the area (Image: Birmingham Mail)

Visitors to a busy High Street face hazards including criminals, yobs and traffic wardens waiting to pounce, it has been claimed.

The road in West Bromwich has the highest crime rate in the Black Country, as well as one of the worst in terms of poverty.

Residents and visitors alike also face traffic wardens patrolling the streets, ready to fine any drivers who have broken parking rules.

Birmingham Live says the area is a hotbed for sex attacks, robberies, drug dealing, fights and antisocial behaviour which have all been reported in the area.

Combined with nearby St Michael Street and New Street, it is the most dangerous area of the Black Country, according to most recent crime figures and possibly the unluckiest for those who live there, says the publication.

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Around six parking fines are handed out every day (Birmingham Mail)

Around 80 crimes were recorded in the area in April, and violence or sexual offences make up nearly half of crimes in the area.

The High Street is also where most drivers are given parking fines, with a massive 3,218 slapped onto windscreens over the last 18 months - around six every day.

More drivers are targeted by traffic wardens in Sandwell's town centres than in neighbouring Dudley, Walsall and Wolverhampton and drivers get punished again and again in West Bromwich town centre.

There are a few reasons why this area might be a hotbed for crime.

One is the bus station, which means a lot of people, including schoolkids and college students, pass through on a daily basis. A number of businesses line the streets, while there's also a pub on the corner.

The town centre setting also makes it more likely burglars and shoplifters will strike here. Another issue here is poverty.

Sandwell has been named as the second poorest area anywhere in the country and those levels of poverty - exacerbated by the cost of living crisis - only increase the likelihood of people drifting into crime.

There have been a number of serious incidents in recent times.

Last December, a man suffered a fractured skull after being knocked to the ground during a vicious attack on High Street. Back in 2020, eight people were arrested on the same street following a full-scale brawl involving machetes.

Richard Guttridge