We visited the Walsall estate dubbed 'Britain's roughest' and found residents terrified for their safety
Residents have called for action after being featured in a viral video saying they live in "the roughest estate in the UK"
Fearful residents have spoken to the Express & Star, calling for an increase in police and council action in the Blakenall area after a YouTube video featuring the area went viral.
The video, titled 'I went to "Britain's Roughest Estate" and it was shocking', has been watched more than 336,000 times on the video platform, and names Blakenall among other Walsall areas such as Palfrey and Caldmore.
The Express & Star paid a visit to get the true feel of the estate and its residents.
Walking through the named streets in the video, Dawson Street, Chantry Avenue and Blakenall Row, I didn't feel safe, but I certainly didn't feel like I was walking through the war zone described in the video.
A resident, who wanted to remain anonymous out of fear of retaliation, said the area has grown increasingly worse since Covid, saying that gangs of youths are one of the major problems.
The resident, who gave a fake name of Keith, has lived on Dawson Street for more than three years, he said: "It's horrible. It has gotten a lot worse in the last few months. There are groups of youths who are one of the issues.
"The houses down the road there (near the end of Dawson Avenue), they have all sorts of stuff tipped on there. We honestly expected someone to set fire to it on bonfire night.
"It never used to be this bad though to be fair. There are nice people around here, but the bad ones just ruining it I think. I think that police do need to do more."
A common theme in the area is the prominence of youth crime, which has forced people to talk anonymously out of fear of retribution.
Another resident of the street, a mother of two, said her young daughters had become daily targets for bullies and youths, with her saying she often fears for their safety.
