HORRIFIED residents have revealed they live on an estate they say is infested with crime, drugs and naked sex workers.
Locals living in Townley Court in Stratford, East London, claim they have been mugged several times as children witness sex acts on their way to school.
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A group of people sit around the entrance to a block of flats on Townley Court Credit: SWNS
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Knife left at Townley Court in Stratford, East LondonCredit: SWNS
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Underwear and other articles of clothing were scattered on the street around the propertyCredit: SWNS
Residents admit that they are afraid to leave or sometimes even peek through the windows of their homes.
Some say they believe the police have “given up” on protecting them, and locals are losing the sense that officers will do anything about problems – if they arise at all.
One disabled resident, who challenged a group inside his building, says he pulled a gun on him.
It is said that naked sex workers walk in the open near children playing.
Residents fear someone will die before something is done.
One furious mum showed doorbell camera footage of her nine-year-old son leaving home to find a prostitute and her client having sex on the staircase.
Another resident witnessed a prostitute performing a sexual act in broad daylight in front of children who were playing.
One local, who wished to remain anonymous, said: “We are under siege. It’s like a horror show.”
A neighbor said: “It’s so dangerous here.
“I’m afraid to come home at night. As soon as it gets dark, I panic.”
Grieving parents are campaigning for tougher laws against knife crime after their son was stabbed to death at a party
An elderly resident said that he was robbed twice.
“The police never showed up,” he said of the latest attack. – They said they don’t have enough vehicles… The same story every time.
He said one of the group even smiled at him, boasting, “There’s nothing you can do.”
One mother who lives on the estate said: “Sometimes I’m afraid to even look outside, in case they see me.
“They are very hostile. They don’t care. They do it in the open because they know nothing will happen.
“If you call the police, they show up hours later or they just send them on their way. They just come back ten, 15 minutes later.
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Residents living in the nightmare estate say the police ‘gave up’ on protecting themCredit: SWNS
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A group of people seen at the entrance to a block of flats in Townley Court Credit: SWNS
“Sometimes the police pass by people who are openly using drugs and do nothing.”
Many residents say they have now given up on calling the police at all because of the lack of action.
One man said: “The police talk to us like we’re a bunch of idiots. They have a script and they just stick to it.”
Another resident, a woman, says: “It’s as if the police and the municipality are afraid of them.
“It’s like things got out of control and now they can’t get her back, so they just gave up.
“I saw a woman pull down her panties and go to the toilet in the middle of the road.
“There was a municipal official there. I said ‘Look!’ but he just said ‘I can’t do anything’.”
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Items of clothing strewn across the street around Townley Court in Stratford, East LondonCredit: SWNS
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Vomit and faeces can often be seen in the apartment buildings on Townley CourtCredit: SWNS
Addicts and prostitutes were allegedly given keys used by firefighters, which allowed them to enter apartment blocks to use drugs, have sex, vomit and defecate.
Locals say that there was so much lawlessness on the property that sex workers sometimes walk around naked.
One man said: “I feel sorry for them. They are people like us.
“But we don’t disrupt other people’s lives. We don’t need this happening on our doorstep.”
Drug users are said to hold rowdy gatherings on tenants’ doorsteps and in gardens “every night”.
“We had a fight here the other night,” said one man. “They shouted: ‘Give me the knife! Give me the knife!'”
Residents claimed that sex workers also sometimes rob their customers, leading to shouting and screaming.
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A box of condoms along with a discarded can of Black Storm Finest Strong CiderCredit: SWNS
The school worker, who has lived on the property for more than 20 years, said it was having a bad effect on the children living on the property.
“It’s simply inexorable,” they said. “Sometimes I go to work on two or three hours of sleep.
“Some of the kids here are at my school and they don’t sleep either.”
Residents have also become accustomed to finding drug addicts unconscious on the street.
London’s emergency services were called to an unresponsive woman last month.
“I went to work and came back at the end of the day and the woman was still there in the same position,” said the resident who called them.
– I thought she was dead.
Another man said he was threatened with a machete when he got into a fight with someone.
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Underwear and other items litter the area around the property in StratfordCredit: SWNS
He said: “The guy put the camera in my face and tried to punch me in the face.
– As soon as I took the camera from him, he pulled out a knife the size of my forearm.
The local man claimed that the group stole his children’s sneakers on another occasion.
“Every night I get a phone call from my lady saying, ‘They’re here, they’re fighting,'” he added.
“We find needles, condoms… Every morning I have to clean the staircase before I take the kids to school.”
The man said the offensive messages were scrawled on his building after his wife simply asked the group to move so she could enter their home.
Those messages have now been washed away, but graffiti reading ‘Demon Gang’ remains scrawled on the property.
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Drug paraphernalia left at Townley Court in Stratford, East LondonCredit: SWNS
Urine and suspected drug wrappers were seen in the man’s stairwell, while faeces, condoms, discarded underwear and a knife were found in the gardens of the property.
Residents said they took risks by gathering evidence but were ignored.
When addicts realized that locals had started filming them, some started using drugs behind umbrellas, it is claimed.
Locals said they had been collecting photos and videos of the suspected drug dealer’s car for months.
“People sleep there, have sex there, do drugs there,” said one resident.
The Met said it was “aware of a potentially suspicious vehicle” and was “investigating”.
One man said, “Someone is going to die. We are all suffering.”
Residents said the authorities carried out “pointless” daytime patrols, despite the problems mostly occurring at night.
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Residents say they have lost hope that the authorities will do anything about itCredit: SWNS
Newham Council said: “We have carried out a number of patrols but unfortunately all of the issues that have occurred are out of hours.”
It added: “We will now provide overtime patrols to support residents.”
The Met said it is now also “reviewing the shift patterns for local police officers to ensure they are in the area at the right time”.
One young woman, whose parents bought a house on the estate in the 1990s, said it wasn’t always like this.
“I just don’t understand,” she said.
“Stratford is a prime location. How can I let things get this bad?
“It’s like they just don’t care.
“Every time I come back from the gym, I’m like, ‘Please God, I hope they don’t do anything to me’… It’s just so scary.”
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Elderly residents of Townley Court said they were repeatedly robbed Credit: SWNS
The woman said her car was recently broken into, but when she started parking further away, she got a ticket.
“So they don’t mind coming here and handing out parking tickets,” she fumed.
“It’s uncomfortable, as well as insecure. You don’t want to invite people into your house.
“The police do absolutely nothing. Maybe one day, if someone gets hurt, they will come.”
One pensioner agreed, saying: “It’s like they’re waiting for someone to actually get stabbed.
“I just don’t know how it’s going to end. It has to be stopped, one way or another.
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Graffiti scrawled on window frame referring to ‘demonic gang’ in Townley CourtCredit: SWNS
“Otherwise it will become deadly.”
Another frustrated resident added: “If the police and the municipality did their jobs, we wouldn’t have to put up with all this.”
Newham Council said it will secure the blocks of flats with new locks, preventing intruders from getting in with fire keys.
A spokesman said: “We are working alongside the police to deter anti-social behavior issues through joint operations, which resulted in arrests and community protection orders being issued in March 2024.”
A Met spokesman added: “We are working hard to resolve the issue to make residents feel safer.
“We have listened to the concerns and are actively working with partners to reduce problems in the area.
“As part of this work, we have a Design Out Crime officer visiting the area. They will make recommendations about what needs to change.”
Categories: Optical Illusion
Source: HIS Education