We live on ‘Jeremy Kyle' estate plagued by masked yobs, stabbings & mass brawls – you don't want to be here after dark

The Sun

3 days ago

FED-UP locals on a notorious estate say they are living in fear as masked yobs with knives and mass brawls plague the streets.
Five years ago, the suburb was branded the 'Jeremy Kyle estate" for its violent spats and anti-social chaos, and was even previously slapped with a dispersal order by cops.
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Residents living in poverty-stricken Firth Park in Sheffield say they have been subjected to feuds between warring gangs, with brawls and blade fights becoming a grim part of daily life.
Locals who have dared to stick it out claim little has changed over the years, warning how the streets are now ruled by teen yobs who run riot without care for the law.
Philip Jackson, 75, who has called Firth Road home his entire life, said: "Years ago, this used to be a decent place. You could leave your windows open, your keys in the car. Nobody would touch a thing.
"People knew each other. We looked out for one another.
"Now it's like a different world. You don't come down here after 6pm if you've got any sense.
"You've got bikes racing up and down the streets, lads in balaclavas like they're Dick Turpin.
"Women and kids don't feel safe. Anyone could be walking behind them carrying a knife.
"People used to talk to each other. Now they keep their heads down."
Firth Park and neighbouring Page Hall have suffered decades of decline since Sheffield's steel mills shut down in 2015.
First Park alone has a crime rate that is 92 per cent higher than the rate for the entire city, according to StreetScan.
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And 33 per cent of people living in Firth Park over the age of 16 have no qualifications at all, statistics from the 2021 census showed.
The areas have become notorious for gang violence and crime - with locals previously comparing it to the "Wild West".
One resident even joked that living in the area was "better than having The Jeremy Kyle Show outside your front door".
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MASS BRAWLS ON THE STREET
Shocking examples of brutality are not hard to find.
In 2023, gang members Andi Alushi and Valdemaras Kasinskas were jailed after holding two victims captive for 10 days in a house on Firth Park Road - forcing them to eat from dog bowls and dance at knifepoint.
Three years earlier, dad-of-two Marcus Ramsey, 35, was murdered trying to break up a violent fight.
He had tried to intervene in a brawl between his half-brother and two teens after one of them allegedly slashed his cousin.
That same year, viral footage emerged of a mass brawl in Hinde House Road showing men and women hurling bricks, chairs and a wooden broom.
Crowds were seen fighting and throwing objects near parked cars.
While violent crime has fallen in Firth Park, police still logged 380 crimes in March alone - mostly for violent offences.
Just last month, a mass brawl erupted on Hinde Street, leaving three people stabbed and dozens of teens, some as young as 17, arrested.
And recently, another video was posted online showing hooligans appearing to commandeer a roundabout to set off fireworks in the middle of the night.
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Paul Barson, 54, said locals are too scared to call the cops, fearing retaliation and called on police to put more boots on the ground.
He said: "Saying they're over-exuberant is probably being kind to them, but at night, they'll just congregate on the streets.
"The trouble is that there's no boots-on-the-ground police anymore and they just don't come until it's too late.
"People worry that if they ring the police, it might come back on them."
A local shopkeeper, who asked not to be named for fear of reprisal, described the nightly mayhem: "You will be trying to get to sleep and then you'll hear the horns blasting down the road.
"Forty or fifty cars circling, windows down, people hanging out of sunroofs, shouting and setting off fireworks. It's like a parade of chaos.
"They shout, set off fireworks, jump out of cars. It can get completely out of control.'
'Every day is a gamble'
The shopkeeper, who moved to the UK many years ago, added: 'They act like they can do what they like with no consequences. It's not right. It's not fair on the rest of us.'
More than a decade ago, former Sheffield MP David Blunkett warned the area was a 'boiling pot' of tension, and many locals say problems remain.
One pensioner, who asked not to be named, said: "You don't know if it's going to be quiet or if a gang's going to start fighting outside your door.
"Every day is a gamble. You just don't know what you're going to get."
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Some people on the estate do point to signs of change following years of police intervention and community-led initiatives.
Walking through the area with her granddaughter, Marie Pitts, 67, said: "It was bad a couple of years ago, but it is much better now.
"I feel safe walking around, even at night. Sometimes I come through on the tram into Firth Park and there's no problem. It's the city centre that's not really safe at night.
"When it was bad a couple of years ago, there were motorbikes speeding up and down and gangs hanging around on the street corner.
"Even though they never bothered me, it was intimidating for elderly people.
"You still get the odd idiot on a motorbike, but generally, it is better."
Retired housing manager Marie, 62, calls her neighbours 'the United Nations' but admits a minority spoil things.
She says: "I'm grateful that where I live, it's quiet. I've got brilliant neighbours from lots of nationalities.
"But there is a minority who think they can do what they like without consequences and give the good folk a bad name.
"At night, you hear cars tearing down the road at what must be 100 miles an hour.
"I could phone the police every night because there's something going on, but they haven't got the people."
Cllr Kurtis Crossthorn, Chair of Sheffield City Council's Communities, Parks and Leisure Committee, said: 'Anti-social behaviour is something we take very seriously. Over recent months, our community team has dedicated a significant amount of effort to tackling any issues in and around Firth Park.
'Through consistent patrolling, community engagement, and collaborative work with key partners such as South Yorkshire Police, we are making notable progress in improving safety and wellbeing around the area.
"We urge residents to keep reporting any issues to the relevant authorities if they become aware of something so we can continue to keep this up."
South Yorkshire Police Inspector, Alec Gibbons, of Sheffield North East Neighbourhood Policing Team, said: "We regularly carry out high-visibility patrols in and around Firth Park, as well as having a dedicated PC and Police Community Support Officer for the area.
"We know the importance of engaging with the local community and hold regular pop-up police stations across the North East NPT area - which provide us an opportunity for residents to raise any issues or concerns.
"Work with our partners at Sheffield City Council is also consistently carried out - with the NPT conducting joint patrols with the Firth Park community team.
"If you have any concerns, I encourage you to raise them to our officers and to report any crimes to us. Reporting incidents helps us in understanding ongoing issues in the area."
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