TERRIFIED residents have revealed their misery living an estate which they say is plagued by crime, drugs and naked sex workers.
Locals living at Townley Court in Stratford, East London claim they have been mugged several times while children witness sex acts on their way to school.
SWNSA group of people sit around the entrance at the block of flats on Townley Court[/caption]
SWNSA knife left at Townley Court in Stratford, East London[/caption]
SWNSUnderwear and other items of clothing litter the street around the estate[/caption]
Residents admit they are scared to leave or sometimes even peer outside the windows of their homes.
Some say they believe the police have “given up” on protecting them, with locals losing fath that officers will do anything about the problems – if they turn up at all.
One disabled resident, who challenged a group inside his building, says he had a gun pulled on him.
Naked sex workers are said to walk around in the open near playing children.
Residents fear it will take someone’s death before action is taken.
One furious mum showed doorbell camera footage of her nine-year-old son leaving home and encountering a prostitute and her client having sex in the stairwell.
Another resident witnessed a prostitute performing a sex act in broad daylight and in full view of playing children.
One local, who wanted to remain anonymous, said: “We’re under siege. It’s like a horror show.”
A neighbour said: “It’s so dangerous around here.
“At night, I’m scared coming home. As soon as it gets dark, I’m panicking.”
One elderly resident said he had been mugged twice.
“Police never turned up,” he said of the latest attack. “They said they didn’t have enough vehicles… It’s the same story every time.”
He said one of the group even smirked at him, boasting: “You can’t do nothing.”
One mother living on the estate said: “I’m frightened sometimes to even look outside, in case they see me.
“They’re very hostile. They don’t care. They do it out in the open because they know nothing’s going to happen.
“If you call the police, they turn up hours later or just send them on their way. They just come back ten, 15 minutes later.
SWNSResidents living on a nightmare estate say police have ‘given up’ on protecting them[/caption]
SWNSA group of people seen at the entrance to a block of flats on Townley Court[/caption]
“Sometimes police drive right past people openly doing drugs and do nothing.”
Many residents say they have now given up calling the police at all because of their lack of action.
One man said: “The police talk to us like we’re a crowd of idiots. They have a script and they just stick to it.”
Another resident, a woman, said: “It’s as if the police and the council are scared of them.
“It’s like things have got out of control and they can’t get it back now, so they’ve just given up.
“I’ve seen a woman pull down her knickers and go to the toilet in the middle of the road.
“A council worker was there. I said, ‘Look!’, but he just said, ‘There’s nothing I can do’.”
SWNSItems of clothing litter the street around Townley Court in Stratford, East London[/caption]
SWNSVomit and faeces are often seen at the block of flats on Townley Court[/caption]
Addicts and prostitutes have reportedly obtained keys used by firefighters, enabling them to enter residents’ blocks to use drugs, have sex, vomit and defecate.
Locals say the estate has become so lawless that sex workers sometimes walk around naked.
One man said: “I feel sorry for them. They are humans like us.
“But we are not disturbing other people’s lives. We don’t need this happening right in front of our doors.”
Drug users are said to hold noisy gatherings in residents’ doorways and gardens “every single night”.
“We had a fight here the other night,” one man said. “They were shouting, ‘Give me the knife! Give me the knife!’”
Residents claimed that sex workers also sometimes rob their customers, leading to shouting and screaming.
SWNSA condom box along with a discarded can of Black Storm Finest Strong Cider[/caption]
A school worker, who has lived on the estate for more than 20 years, said it was badly affecting children living on the estate.
“It’s just relentless,” they said. “Sometimes I’m going to work on two, three hours’ sleep.
“Some of the kids from around here are at my school and they’re not sleeping either.”
Residents have also become accustomed to finding addicts unconscious in the street.
The London Ambulance Service was called out last month to an unresponsive woman.
“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 rang them.
“I thought she was dead.”
Another man said he’d been threatened with a machete when he confronted someone.
SWNSUnderwear and other items litter the area around the Stratford estate[/caption]
He said: “A guy put a camera in my face and tried to punch me in the face.
“As soon as I took his camera away, he pulled a knife the size of my forearm.”
The resident claimed the group stole his children’s trainers on another occasion.
“Every night I have a phone call from my Mrs saying, ‘They’re here, they’re fighting’,” he added.
“We find needles, condoms… Every morning I have to clean the stairwell before I take my kids to school.”
The man said that abusive messages were scrawled on his building after his wife simply asked a group to move so she could enter her home.
Those messages have now been washed away, but a graffiti tag reading ‘Demon Gang’ remains daubed on the property.
SWNSDrug paraphernalia left at Townley Court in Stratford, East London[/caption]
Urine and suspected drug wraps were visible in the man’s stairwell, while faeces, condoms, discarded underwear and a knife were found in gardens on the estate.
Residents said they had risked gathering evidence, only to be ignored.
When addicts realised locals had started filming them, some started taking drugs behind umbrellas, it is claimed.
Locals said they spent months collecting photos and videos of a suspected drug dealer’s car.
“People sleep in there, have sex in there, take drugs in there,” one resident said.
The Met said it was “aware of a potentially suspicious vehicle” and was “investigating”.
One man said: “Someone is going to get killed. We’re all suffering.”
Residents said the authorities carried out “pointless” daylight patrols, despite the problems overwhelmingly occurring overnight.
SWNSResidents say they have given up hope that the authorities will do anything about it[/caption]
Newham Council said: “We have carried out numerous tasking patrols but unfortunately all the issues raised happen outside of operational hours.”
It added: “We will now ensure overtime patrols are in place to support residents.”
The Met said it too was now “reviewing shift patterns for local officers to ensure they are in the area at the right times”.
One young woman, whose parents bought their home on the estate in the 1990s, said it wasn’t always like this.
“I just don’t understand it,” she said.
“Stratford is a prime location. How can they let things get this bad?
“It’s like they just don’t give a damn.
“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.”
SWNSElderly residents of Townley Court have spoken of being mugged multiple times[/caption]
The woman said her car was broken into recently, but when she started parking farther away, she received a fine.
“So they don’t mind coming around here to give out parking tickets,” she fumed.
“It’s embarrassing, as well as being unsafe. You don’t want to invite people to your house.
“The police are doing absolutely nothing. Maybe, one of these days, if somebody gets hurt, then they will come.”
One pensioner agreed, saying: “It’s like they are waiting for someone to actually get stabbed.
“I just don’t know how it’s going to end. It’s got to be stopped, one way or another.
SWNSGraffiti scrawled on a window frame referencing a ‘Demon Gang’ at Townley Court[/caption]
“It’s going to get deadly otherwise.”
Another frustrated resident added: “If the police and the council did their jobs, we wouldn’t have to put up with all this.”
Newham Council said it would secure blocks of flats with new locks, preventing intruders from entering with fire keys.
A spokesman said: “We have been working together with the police to deter the antisocial behaviour issues through joint operations, which has resulted in arrests and community protection orders issued in March 2024.”
A spokesperson for the Met added: “We are working hard to tackle the issue in order to make residents feel safer.
“We have listened to 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 on what needs to change.”