3 days ago
Birmingham postcode where people 'poo, take drugs and sell sex' in streets
Fed-up residents are being pushed out of their homes in an inner city area plagued by anti-social behaviour - and it's only getting worse.
Locals living in Handsworth for years said they are moving out, opting to rent their homes for money instead of putting up with the spiralling trouble marring the neighbourhood.
It's an area that has, for years, been known for prostitution, but now people are even seen 'defecating, taking drugs and lying passed out in the streets' as its drug problem worsens.
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Co-ordinator of the Handsworth Community Action Group and resident of the area for over 40 years, Tariq Rashid, is among those battling against the escalating plethora of issues.
He's now urging police to help enforce a Public Spaces Protection Order, PSPO, in place across Handsworth. Syringes are thrown into people's gardens and one man even stole a pair of shoes from Mr Rashid's porch in a burglary attempt late at night, he said.
"It's becoming a nightmare now," Mr Rashid told BirminghamLive in an urgent bid for support.
"This area has gone so bad, it's unbelievable. We've got a PSPO order here, I don't know how or why it's not being enforced.
"You wouldn't believe the kinds of things we see on the top of Soho Road. Prostitution, drugs, people defecating on the street, it's just everything.
"People are trying to walk out their house and there's people outside with their pants down, and you're thinking, 'what the hell?' What is the solution? I don't know."
Problems have worsened since a number of HMOs emerged in the area, with "like-minded people" creating their own communities as they're placed together, Mr Rashid says.
"They all seem to congregate around certain areas, there's people passed out at bus stops, issues at the top of the road with people hanging around, fly tipping. You name it, we've got it," he said.
"You can't even walk on Soho Road, there's so much anti-social behaviour, everything's going on on Soho Road.
"Everyone's fed up. Residents are up in arms, they don't know what to do."
Resident WhatsApp groups are filled with posts from locals worried about their area, regularly posting warnings as they try to "look out for each other."
Mr Rashid and the street watch team have a meeting with the MP this week in a plea for help. The neighbourhood group try to offer support to drug abusers and those involved in anti-social behaviour, however they are often rebuked as they "just want money."
He explained: "We're going out and most the time we're giving them sandwiches, and they're thrown back at us. They want money, we say 'sorry we don't do that.'
"They don't want the help. You give them food, they don't want it. How is the supply of drugs getting through to them?
"There's a couple who were really good looking, honest to God if you saw a photo of them from ten years ago, how good looking they are, to what's happened to them now, it's like skin and bones.
"Help is out there, but it's whether people choose to get themselves cleaned up."
He continued: "I walked up my road and I couldn't believe the state of it. I've been here 40 years. There's people who don't like walking across the road.
"A lot of us have had enough and are moving out the area, and renting them out. I would love to move, but have you seen the prices of houses these days?
"We made a home, been here 40 years, us neighbours and everyone never had issues - and now we're down to this."
West Midlands Police said Soho Road is "very much a priority" for the local policing teams, with a number of recent operations leading to "significant arrests and convictions."
A spokesperson for the force said: "Our local neighbourhood teams work in conjunction with our wider operational teams such as Guardian, Op Skybridge, Safer Travel and more.
"We are still continuing to run operations in this area, with last month's Safer Travel operation leading to multiple arrests.
"We work in partnership with birmingham-city-council>Birmingham City Council to address any issues that may affect Soho Road, as well as working with a number of other agencies to help those in the area.
"We have a dedicated patrol which has been reviewed to now include the whole Soho Road and the surrounding roads, and utilise this in conjunction with the PSPO."
Anyone who has information was urged to get in touch with local officers or call 101.
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