NEIGHBOURS in one of “Britain’s grimmest suburbs” have described hellish conditions with rats feasting on rotten meat, gardens strewn with rubbish and thugs battering passersby in the street.
Residents of Tolladine, Worcester, also claimed the elderly and vulnerable are too scared to leave their homes due to crime and anti-social behaviour, with people beaten up in the street for “no reason. “
One local said the rotting meat and bones on the pavements had created a ‘rats paradise’ with vermin feasting on the waste dumped in the street.
On Avon Road, one garden was strewn with filthy mattresses, broken fridges, an old toilet and smashed bed frames.
The rubbish covered every inch of grass and spilled onto the pavement, forcing residents to step into the road to avoid it.
Edward Kimberley, who stood as a Labour candidate in the ward in May 2022, said: “Avon and Teme Roads were council estates built with small, family-sized houses designed to accommodate a specific number of people.
“Now these are being turned into HMOs, far more people are being crammed in, and public services (like waste collection and on-street parking) have failed to keep pace.
“Many tenants in this area are effectively locked out of whatever help the council could provide them, because they don’t speak fluent English, leaving them depending on their landlords for everything.
“We need to do a much better job of reaching out to them, and letting them know help is available.
“This part of Tolladine is generally dilapidated and features neglect of all kinds.
“Rubbish in the street, discarded offal and fly-tipping is normal here.”
One local said: “This place should be condemned. It’s an absolute disgrace. The only things thriving are the vermin. It’s a rat’s paradise.
“People have given up all hope and respect for the area. I know of older people who are too frightened and depressed to leave their homes.”
Another said: “It’s horrible walking around here and some of the people dumping stuff are really menacing.
“It’s not just people throwing rubbish away, criminals are starting to use the area to fly-tip stuff. The area is turning into a giant rubbish dump.
“You see gangs of kids spitting and smashing windows in empty buildings. People have been beaten up in the street for no reason, it’s grim.”
Mohammed Altaf, a Conservative city ward councillor for the area, owns several properties in the area.
He said sometimes tenants moved out and left rubbish, including furniture behind.
He said: “If I need to spend any money I will spend money out of my own pocket.
“It was me that brought back the Saturday Skips because they had been taken away.”
Cllr Altaf suggested more should be done to help the area’s multi-cultural population access council services.
He said: “It needs to be explained the green bin is for recycling and the black bin isn’t.”
A spokesperson for Worcester City Council said: “We would like to thank the resident who alerted us to the sofa and other rubbish dumped in Avon Road.
“We are making arrangements for this to be removed.
“We would encourage residents to report any fly-tipping they spot in the city to us at www.worcester.gov.uk/report-it.
“We will also investigate the site at Teme Road.”
