Brit ‘smuggler' Bella Culley, 18, ‘receiving NO medical care' behind bars in grim ex-Soviet jail
Backpacker Bella, 18, is in custody following her arrest in Georgia's Tbilisi airport with a suitcase of cannabis after going missing 4,000 miles away in Thailand.
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She will spend at least nine months on remand in a grim Soviet-era lock-up alongside hardened criminals and faces a sentence from 15 years to life if convicted of importing the huge stash.
Celebrity Georgian lawyer Mariam Kublashvili, 39, was allowed to visit Bella for 30 minutes on Monday and brought the first news of her condition behind bars.
Shockingly, she revealed the pregnant teen had not received a proper medical examination since telling a Tbilisi court she was pregnant.
She also assessed that the shy and scared young Briton was a victim rather than a calculating criminal who deserves to be caged for years.
Ms Kublashvili said: 'She is pregnant and needs medical care which she complained she wasn't getting.
'She told me no tests, checks or medical examinations have been done.
'She said she asked for a doctor, but the doctor wasn't speaking English and they couldn't understand each other.'
The Sun also revealed that Bella could be forced to being up her child behind bars in unforgiving conditions.
Experts spoke of their fears for her unborn child which could spend the first three years of its life in a prison nursery.
Eliso Rukhadze, Georgian women's rights defender and lawyer told The Sun last week: 'Bella will be transferred to a hospital to have the baby and then rushed back to prison.
Bella Culley's dad stands by daughter amid fears drug gangs are targeting Brit backpackers
'Over the last few years, a large amount of funds have been allocated to make the space as comfortable as possible.
'Equipment is modern. There is a kindergarten and nursery too to create the best possible conditions for the child in the prison.
'For up to three years, the child would grow up there and the mom would have unrestricted access to the child - including breastfeeding.
'They would have to be cared for by a family member.
"The nationality will add complications. If the child is Georgian, and the family is British, they will have to take extra steps to be given wardship of the child.
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'It won't be put up for adoption. The child will only be given to members of the family, but it adds an extra layer of bureaucracy.'
Bella's pregnancy has yet to be confirmed by medical checks - but her dad, Neil, 49, appeared distressed as he faced the possibility of his first grandchild being born in prison.
Puffing shakily on a cigarette, the dad told The Sun: 'I'm sorry - I don't want to say anything.'
Ms Kublashvili painted a sorrowful picture of a 'sad but calm' Bella - who she said appeared visibly cold in a thin green top and leggings with her hair untied when they met in a draughty meeting room.
She said the teen constantly thanked the prison advocate during their talk and appeared timid and reserved as she quietly set out her concerns.
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Ms Kublashvili said: 'My Initial impression was very positive - she is very open, very pleasant, and charming. She doesn't fit the profile of a drug trafficker at all.
'For anyone, like me, with experience in dealing with such cases, it would be quite obvious that she is a victim here - she's been used and manipulated.
'She is sad and would very much like to go home. I have a 20-year-old child myself and can only imagine what her parents must be feeling.
'But I have a great deal of experience helping women in situations like this and want to do all I can for her so I'm offering my services free of charge."
The glam lawyer is the former-Soviet state's best-known celebrity lawyer - and was previously employed by British "speedboat killer" Jack Shepherd who fled to Georgia.
She emerged from the jail on Monday with a food shopping list from the teenager for chicken fillets, beef or veal, bread, apples, pears and pomegranates.
The 18-year-old had also asked for tuna, which Kublashvili thought could be a pregnancy craving, but that isn't allowed to be sent in.
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Her others requests included warmer clothes and for the lawyer to broker a visit from her father - which is expected to happen either on Tuesday or later in the week.
Bella's Vietnam-based oil rig electrician dad Niel, 39, and her aunt Kerrie Culley flew to Georgia to support her but have so far been blocked from visiting by jail red tape.
The father told The Sun he will stay 'as long as it takes' to help end her ordeal and is currently dealing with a local legal aid lawyer.
Niel is estranged from Bella's UK-based mum Lyanne Kennedy who has struggled to find enough cash to fly to Georgia.
Bella is sharing a cell at the prison with two other women inmates, but it was unclear what crimes they have been accused of or committed, Ms Kublashvili said.
Bella was detained in Georgia following a tip-off on May 11 after a 20-hour flight from Bangkok via Sharjah in the UAE with the drug stash in her hold bag.
She had spent weeks away having holiday fun in the Philippines and Thailand where she met a group of young men from the north west of England.
She joked online of 'Bonnie and Clyde' hijinks and was pictured smoking a suspicious-looking cigarette and showing off wads of cash.
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The Sun
12 hours ago
- The Sun
Our benefits street is like a slum… people flog sex at all hours & I strung up wall of dead rats to deter druggies
DODGING a squashed rat, a young man and woman race each other on mobility scooters, while the distinctive smell of weed momentarily interrupts the putrid stench of decaying rubbish. Meanwhile mountains of black bin liners are strewn across streets, many of which spew their contents onto the pavements, while piles of mattresses, fridge freezers and sofas congregate in back alleys. 17 17 17 This is Eastwood, an area of Rotherham in South Yorkshire branded 'lawless' by desperate locals, some of whom claim it's become a total no-go area at night due to escalating issues with anti-social behaviour, drugs and loud parties. The problem is so bad that a Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO) issued by the council in 2019 has now been extended to 2028 - with demands that residents refrain from street drinking and partying until the small hours, dumping rubbish on the streets, and bring in their wheelie bins to curb the ever-expanding rodent population. Locals say they have been battling for months to keep the vermin under control - with one desperate man stringing up a line of 20 carcasses on a fence to show the council the harrowing extent of the problem. Father-of-two Andrew Wilshaw, 45, tells The Sun when we visit: 'This used to be a great area but in the past 10 years it has gone downhill before my eyes. 'I am doing my best to help it. We didn't have much but we had standards. Now it's more like a third world country.' The main streets covered by the PSPO are Fitwilliam Road, the Doncaster Road corridor, Eldon Road and the stretch up to the Mushroom roundabout. South Yorkshire Police records showed anti-social behaviour incidents in the area had "increased steadily" since the order was last renewed, with 568 reports between 2021-2024. A total of 60 Fixed Penalty Notices have been issued since the order was introduced in 2019 - though we witnessed several violations on our visit alone. Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council does try to keep up with demand by making clear-up trips six days a week - but still the rubbish piles up. Andrew, who works in security, now patrols the area every Monday morning taking photos documenting the damage from the weekend in an attempt to help clean up his community. I live in UK's saddest council estate with 'carpet' of 800 vodka bottles… it makes Shameless look like The Borrowers He set up the Facebook group How Clean in Eastwood, which has 800 members. Andrew - who took us around the areas in our car fearing we'd be a target if we walked around with expensive camera equipment - says: 'I started posting the sights and rubbish I saw on my own Facebook page but it blew up, so I set up the dedicated page around a year ago. 'The idea is that we shame the council into action, because the PSPOs they have in place do nothing. 'A lot of people will get me to post their photos for them because they're too scared of reprisals to do it themselves. 'All the people who used to care have had enough and moved out. Most of those left living in this mayhem are the elderly. It's awful. 'I moved in with my ill parents a bit further up the road around 10 years ago and managed to sell my house in the thick of the problem area. 'I thank God that happened because I wouldn't get anything for it now.' 'Wall of Rats' 17 17 17 Petty crime and the brazen dumping of rubbish - which is fuelling a surging population of rodents - is blighting the lives of many Eastwood residents we speak to. Granddad-of-11 Dave Russell, 74, created a 'Wall of Rats' with some of his kills. He explains: 'The rats used to be lined all across but the birds have been eating them. 'I did it to show the council how bad it is for us. This is what we live with. 'It also stops the local druggies coming here and using it as a place to hang about. 'My garden fence is topped with barbed wire to stop burglars after our shed was broken into a few years back. We also have CCTV. The rats used to be lined all across but the birds have been eating them. I did it to show the council how bad it is for us. This is what we live with Dave Russell 'You can't have your back door open for fear you'll get a rat in your house. You see them darting across your garden all the time. 'I catch three or four every day. I used to leave live traps and then kill them by drowning them - the snapper traps leave a bit of a mess. 'I have started laying down poison, it's £9 for a pack of 20 - in the past three months I've used two tubs. But still we have so many, it does nothing to keep the numbers down. 'Nobody should have to live like this, we are constantly bleaching and cleaning because rats are full of disease.' Father-of-one Mohammed Khan, 34, has had to replace his Mitsubishi Outlander 4x4 car three times after rats got inside and chewed wires. He says: 'They're rampant. I'd say I've spent around £25- £30,000 on cars over the last couple of years. 'Once they've got in and eaten the foam that's it, your car is done for. 'I spend around £80 a month on pest control to try and make my garden safe for my child but really you can't let your kid play outside in this. 'It's far too dangerous. Even if you don't see a rat, there is poo left behind.' 'Lawless' 17 17 17 17 Resident Kaz Gunn, 55, refuses to move from the estate even though she's had to get her door replaced twice from thugs constantly bashing it. Kaz, who suffers with osteoporosis, says: 'I always speak out and take photos of people throwing rubbish, but then I make myself a target. 'Anybody who passes my door will always make sure to give it a good thud on their way by. It's quite alarming and I am scared, but I refuse to budge. 'I may be small and skinny but I won't take any crap. 'To make it even worse the whole place floods when we get plenty of rain because the drains are all blocked. 'We are living in a hellhole. It's lawless, the number of rats is immense, the streets are covered with them at night, and the parties that go on until 6am on a weekend are a nightmare. We are living in a hellhole. It's lawless, the number of rats is immense, the streets are covered with them at night, and the parties that go on until 6am on a weekend are a nightmare Kaz Gunn 'The noise here is awful. We get noise abatement people out to take measurements every so often but nothing is ever done about it. 'It's also mobility scooter central. I'd love to have a mobility scooter but can't get one for love nor money, but loads of people have them round here.' Kaz points out a woman zipping by holding a bag of shopping in one hand while gripping the handlebar and a phone pressed to her ear in her other. 'She's not disabled,' Kaz says. 'She's a mum-of-two who lives over there. 'You also get people coming to your door trying to sell you stuff. I've had somebody try and sell my cat to me before, then a fella started breeding kittens to get money so now you see more cats than ever. 'Another fella was trying to sell a wheelie bin which he'd obviously nicked from somebody else's house. 'As much as I'm terrified, I also have a lot of friends here who look out for me. I have CCTV to protect me.' 'Heartbreaking' 17 17 Bar the odd corner shop and a new play park for kids, there is not much to do in the PSPO catchment, with cafes and pubs long gone. Despite it being the school summer holidays, the streets are void of children playing. Though pushchairs are a regular feature outside the dishevelled terraced houses, Andrew tells us they are primarily used to transport waste. 'You see so many prams outside the houses - they look innocent enough but they're actually for the people to pile high with rubbish and take it to be dumped. It's crazy,' he says. 'There are a couple of fellas around here who have vans and operate as the local skip. They take loads of rubbish and dump it. 'We know who these people are yet nothing is done. 'Somebody set fire to some rubbish piled outside an old fella's home just last week and it killed all 90 of his pigeons. Somebody set fire to some rubbish piled outside an old fella's home just last week and it killed all 90 of his pigeons Andrew Wilshaw 'And you certainly can't have anything in your garden or it will get nicked. It's heartbreaking. 'Every so often there will be a power cut because of all the power being used to grow cannabis in some houses. "It's not fair because Eastwood was already a working class area and we've now become a dumping ground for people and rubbish. 'Sometimes I wonder why I keep doing this but then somebody in their 80s will come to me with concerns and fears, and I keep going.' He adds: 'It's not great to walk around here during the day but you'd be insane to come here at night. 'Each night there will be around 40 Slovakian Roma people drinking in the park. 'The council stupidly put around a dozen benches there so it makes the problem worse, and even the police don't come here. If they did there'd be hell. 'You get accosted at all hours by people asking, 'Do you want anything?' This can be drugs or sex.' 'Getting worse' 17 17 17 17 Eastwood is a melting pot of ethnicities, with a big Asian population who migrated in the 70s, and a large Slovakian Roma population that has increased over the past decade. Thirty-five languages are spoken at Eastwood's St Ann's Primary school. One Roma mum-of-four, 36, who did not wish to be named, tells us: 'We are always to blame for all the rubbish but people come from outside in big vans and dump it. It is not us. 'I do not see so much wrong with all being out together in the street. We like to be together.' Another resident who did not wish to be named says: 'It is easy to put some of the blame onto the Roma families but the real problem is the landlords. 'The homeowners who moved out are now the landlords and they allow their tenants to do what they want and let them live in horrendous conditions.' Private landlords in Eastwood have to comply with Selective Licensing, a scheme put in place from 2020 to 2025 to make sure landlords maintain certain conditions and are subject to council checks. It is waiting to be renewed. 'On paper Selective Licensing and PSPOs are wonderful, but if nobody is enforcing them then they're not going to work,' the man continued. 'Something should have been done about Eastwood a long time ago. Instead it has been left to rack and ruin and it's getting worse. 'Private landlords hand over their properties with not so much as a tenancy agreement. 'Everybody here is on benefits. Apparently many houses have their meters rigged up for gas and electricity and nobody bats an eyelid. 'The amount of nice cars around here when nobody is working is phenomenal. They're all mobility cars. ' Drinking in the street is a major problem, and people chucking their furniture into the street is standard. 'But if you ring the council, they say you need to ring the police, and they tell you to ring the council, and you go round in circles. 'It's intolerable. We shouldn't be living like this. These are 100-year-old terraces and the best thing for them would be to knock them all down.' 'Eastwood deserves better' Rotherham Council's Assistant Director of Regeneration and Environment, Sam Barstow, tells The Sun: 'We are committed to keeping the borough clean and welcoming. 'The waste team visit Eastwood on weekdays to clear all the litter bins and general waste. 'Additionally, a weekend team carry out bin clearance and attend to any fly-tipping, making a total of six visits. 'If we have reports of flytipping of larger items like mattresses or fridge freezers, we make additional visits, which is currently averaging around four occasions per week. 'Between April 2024 and June 2025, we have issued 164 flytipping warning letters and took enforcement action over 21 flytipping cases in Eastwood. 'We also issued 291 written Community Protections Warnings, leading to 56 Community Protection Notices for unremoved waste in gardens. 'During the same period, 888 littering tickets were issued in the area. "Since 2023 the Council has received 325 complaints about noise in Eastwood which has resulted in 316 enforcement actions. Every case is investigated, and action is taken where evidence allows. 'By engaging with the community through targeted mailouts to promote responsible waste disposal, we're working together to reduce waste and make a lasting, positive impact on the environment we all share. 'Concerns about rats or rubbish, or anti-social behaviour relating to a domestic property should be reported to the council. 'Where the anti-social behaviour relates to problems associated with activities on the street, such as drinking and gatherings of groups, then the Police should be contacted.' Labour Cllr of Rotherham East, Angham Ahmed, says:"Eastwood continues to face a number of ongoing challenges, and we understand that many residents are increasingly frustrated by persistent issues such as fly-tipping and anti-social behaviour, often caused by a small minority of individuals. "These actions not only damage the environment but also undermine the pride that so many of us take in our community. "We are working closely with the local council, police, and community partners to keep Eastwood safe and clean. This includes daily street cleaning, CCTV monitoring, and taking firm enforcement action -including fines - against those who break the rules. "The introduction of the Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO) has made it clearer what is and isn't acceptable in our shared public spaces, giving authorities more power to respond when those standards are ignored. "We also recognise that some residents, particularly those who have more recently arrived in the UK, may not yet be familiar with local expectations. That's why we continue to work with local community groups to support integration, raise awareness, and help everyone feel part of the community. "Ultimately, we expect all residents, regardless of background, to take responsibility and do their bit to help maintain a safe, respectful and welcoming neighbourhood. "As a local resident myself, I witness these challenges firsthand and understand the strength of feeling across our community. Eastwood deserves better, and we are committed to working together to create a cleaner, safer, and more respectful place for all who live here." The Sun has reached out to South Yorkshire Police for comment.
Daily Mail
12 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Three British women are detained in Mauritius after failed bid to smuggle £4million worth of cannabis into the tropical paradise
Three British women have been detained in Mauritius after a group of nine passengers were found with over £4million worth of cannabis in their suitcases. Shania Mabel Rosalind Wood, Alethea Jade Demitre and Chloe Nancy Parker were arrested in what has been described as 'one of the largest' drug seizures at Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam International Airport (SSR) on May 29. Between eight suitcases 212kg of cannabis, worth an estimated street value of 254.5 million Mauritian rupees (£4,104,353.22), was seized upon their arrival EK703 from Dubai, at around 4.40pm local time. Wood, 25, was found with 30 packages of the class B drug weighing 31.10kg, while fellow Brit Demitre, 33, was discovered with 31.11kg of cannabis across 46 packages. Eighteen-year-old Parker was also found with 46 packages of the drug weighing at 44.95kg. The five arrested - which includes both Dominican and Portuguese nationals - are Hansel Gomez, Esequiel Perez, Ildo Valera De Brito, Luis Manuel Herrera Martinez and Soraia Cristina Da Silva Cruz. Another Brit, Daniel Jonathan Pearson, was also taken into custody despite having no drugs in his possession. He is believed to have been the ringleader supervising the eight drug mules, Defi media reported. It is suggested Pearson was going to create a diversion at the checkpoint to allow the drug smugglers to pass through unchecked. Fellow Brit, Alethea Jade Demitre, was also detained in what has been described as 'one of the largest' drug seizures at Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam International Airport (SSR) on May 29 However the airport's Anti-Drug & Smuggling Unit (ADSU), officers from the Customs Anti-Narcotics Section (CANS) of the Mauritius Revenue Authority (MRA) foiled their operation. Wood, Demitre and Parker face provisional charges of the importation of cannabis, while Pearson faces charged of drug dealing with aggravating circumstances and managing the importation of cannabis with an averment of trafficking. All nine people involved have been remanded in jail as they await a trial before the Mauritian Supreme Court. If found guilty, the Brits could spend between 25 to 60 years locked up abroad. A Foreign Office spokesperson said: 'We are supporting a number of British nationals who have been detained in Mauritius and are in contact with the local authorities.' It follows the arrest of seven other British citizens at the same airport, including a six-year-old boy, who were found to have £1.6million worth of cannabis concealed in their suitcases. Customs officials at Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam Airport discovered 14 kilos of cannabis concealed in the young boy's bag and 17 kilos in luggage belonging to another individual on June 22. Altogether some 161 kilos of the drug were found hidden throughout several other suitcases. Eleven numbered Apple AirTags were discovered, suggesting the operation may have been linked to an organised crime gang responsible for smuggling drugs from Europe to Mauritius. The six arrested British adults - all from Cambridgeshire - included Laura Kappen, 28, a bar worker from Orton Goldhay, Shannon Holness, 29, a caterer, from Bretton, Shona Campbell, 33, a cleaner from Standground, Lily Watson, a caterer from Peterborough and window fitter Patrick Wilsdon, 21, also from Peterborough. Romanian national, Florian Lisman, 38, a machine operator living in Huntingdon, was additionally arrested. Daily Mail recently revealed how a British man was arrested in Cambodia after allegedly attempting to smuggle nearly 20kg of marijuana into the UK - just hours after he was reported missing by his girlfriend. Robert Brown, 41, from Newcastle, had been the subject of an urgent missing persons post on social media before he was arrested at Phnom Penh International Airport on June 17. Police found 22 packages of cannabis weighing nearly 20kg hidden inside his luggage. The drugs, which police believe originated from Thailand, are thought to have a street value of around £200,000. Brown has been charged with the use, possession, trafficking, and transport of drugs under Cambodian law and has been referred to the Phnom Penh Municipal Court for legal proceedings. If convicted, he could face a hefty prison sentence of between 20 to 30 years, Khmer Times reported. It comes amid a spate of drug smuggling offences by Brits, with Bella Culley, 18 from Billingham, County Durham, was arrested in Georgia last May. She was accused of carrying 12kg of cannabis and 2kg of hashish into the ex-Soviet nation from Thailand, where she had been holidaying. She claimed in court that she is pregnant and has confided in legal sources that she was in love with a mystery man who now forms a central part of the investigation. In a similar case, 21-year-old Charlotte Lee May, from Coulsdon, south London, has been locked up in a Sri Lankan prison. She was detained after police discovered 46kg of 'Kush' - a synthetic strain of cannabis - in her suitcase when she arrived on a flight from Thailand. The former cabin crew member for Tui was placed in handcuff after £1.15million worth of cannabis was allegedly found in her luggage last month. She is being detained in a prison north of Colombo and could face up to 25 years in prison if found guilty. A flurry of cases have since followed including OnlyFans model Clara Wilson, 36, from Nottinghamshire, who allegedly tried to smuggle around £200,000 of Thai cannabis into Spain. Meanwhile, British beautician Kimberly Hall, 29, from Middlesbrough, was accused of attempting to smuggle $6.2m of cocaine from Chicago O' Hare Airpor t to the UK, after travelling from Cancun, Mexico. Many of the alleged British smugglers face decades in prison if convicted.
Daily Mail
19 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Inside Britain's worst high street: Why shoppers are terrified to visit city centre in Wales
It has it all. Crime, drugs, homelessness, and now more empty shopfronts than any high street in the UK. It is unlikely Newport was ever in the running to be hailed as the UK's 'best high street', but a recent report has placed the city centre right at the bottom of the list... and it comes as no surprise to locals. The Welsh city is home to some of the highest crime rates in the country, and earlier this year was voted the worst staycation spot in the UK. Now, it has been dubbed the 'worst high street' after think tank Centre for Cities found it has the highest proportion of empty units, with nearly one in five shops - 19 per cent - left boarded up. On Friday officers were called to Commercial Road after a group of men were seen fighting in the street yesterday afternoon, with two wielding huge sword-like blades. It comes as a BBC investigation this week also found that mini-marts and vape shops in the city are routinely being shut down by trading standards over the sale of illegal tobacco and vapes. When the Daily Mail visited the deprived city centre on Thursday, locals and businesses told of how the elderly were 'too frightened' to visit the high street anymore and all that remains are 'vape shops, betting shops and charity shops'. The empty stores have become targets for crime gangs, with Gwent Police uncovering a series of high street buildings being used as cannabis farms last year, of which the largest was a former Wildings store which shut down in 2019. A closed Wildings store in the city centre. Last year, Gwent Police discovered a large cannabis farm being grown by a criminal gang inside the store A short stroll down Commercial Street, the main high street which runs down to Commercial Road in the notorious crime-ridden Pill (Pillgwenlly), and it is hard to miss the rows of boarded up storefronts. A large Debenhams just off the high street remains empty since its closure in 2021 and the abandoned Cineworld has the words 'Ghost' graffitied at the top of the building. Local man Carl, 40, said crime was killing off the high street. He told the Daily Mail: 'There is more crime around here than things that bring happiness to people. 'It used to be a great thriving happy place in the 70s, 80s and 90s. 'Now it's empty and there's nothing to come here for. 'People are too scared to come here, it used to be nice area but now people are too frightened to come here. 'It's the elderly that come to the shops here but they are too frightened. 'There are youngsters just going round causing trouble and trashing things. There's nothing to do for the youngsters so they're out causing trouble. 'You can't go into a shop without someone begging outside now. It's sad. 'People need to come together to make Newport better. We want to see it improve, not deteriorate. 'Everyone here is struggling to survive. People are on the poverty line and even the foodbanks aren't running. 'It's a vulnerable place here, there's a lot of poverty. So it's a target for crime and dodgy shops.' Further down the high street, refuse worker Alun Jones looked around as he told the Daily Mail: 'It's depressing, yeah. It's gone downhill. 'They're all vapes shops, tiny grocery stores, and they get closed down every few months because they're selling illegal vapes and tobacco. 'They get closed down regularly, they get closed down there then they go over the road and open up there. So there's no deterrent. 'A couple of years ago there were four or five cannabis farms found by police in the centre of town. They were just very obviously in the high street, they weren't even trying to hide it. 'The drugs have gotten to the point where you don't notice the people that smell of cannabis anymore. Because it's normal, it's always around. 'There is also a lot of vagrancy around that doesn't help. 'Ever since Covid people who used to come to the centre now don't. I think it's had a big influence on it. They just shop online. 'Just before Covid started getting quieter but now its gone down noticeably. It's killed it off.' He said that while work was ongoing to revamp the Kingsway shopping centre and reopen closed stores, 'it'll probably just be another charity shop or another vape shop'. 'They're not stores of stores that are going to bring people in', he added. 'The worst thing to be done to Newport was building Friars Walk shopping centre. 'People come straight into the car park, go to Friars, and go back. They never come to Commercial Street. 'If that money was invested into Commercial Street maybe it wouldn't be so bad. 'I think before soon the high street will just become predominantly into residential areas.' Recent statistics from the Home Office revealed earlier this year that despite having a population of just 159,600 residents, Newport has the highest crime rate in the country. There are a staggering 121 offences committed for every 1,000 people, and analysis by MailOnline showed that crimes including possession of weapons, sexual offences and violence have all markedly increased since Covid. Newport Council says that while it acknowledges the need to reduce the number of vacant retail units, the figures are 'distorted' because Newport has the highest amount of retail space per head than any of the other 62 high streets featured in the Centre for Cities report. They also say that apart from Newport and Leicester, no other council provided vacancy data, and so the vacancy figures are based on 'modelling'. Kevin Ward, of Newport City Centre Business Improvement District, has also hit out at the report's findings, saying the report only focused on 63 of the country's largest cities and towns. He also argued that the situation has improved, from some 33 per cent of store units being vacant in 2021 to 19 per cent in the most recent figures. Antonio Campo and Rosy Ferrara, who have been running the popular Bar Piazza cafe near the centre's Friar Walk for 11 years, however say customers tell them they are scared to go to Commercial Street despite being around the corner. They said: 'People don't feel safe in Newport anymore. Our customers don't feel safe so they don't go near the main street. 'They don't feel safe. The crimes, the drugs and alcohol in this area is not good. The alcohol should be kept to the pub but it is not. 'I came here 11 years ago and back then I feel Newport was amazing. It's in the last 4 or 5 years it feels like no one cares about Newport anymore. 'I think the council is working well now to help the empty shops but it's still not good. 'You can organise as much things as you want, but if people don't feel safe then people will not come. 'I never felt unsafe in Newport, but I remember probably a year ago and my kids were playing outside my cafe. 'The girl from Specsavers said to me "keep your kids close because there are people here grabbing kids and going." 'I don't know if true but not very nice to hear. It's not something you want to worry about.' Close to the city centre are also some of the city's most deprived and crime-ridden areas including Pill, another factor which is thought to drive both customers and businesses away. Heidi Mehta, 50, said: 'I was a student here about 20 years ago. 'It was a thriving place to be, it felt safe, it had lots of cafes, it was a good place to go out. All of that is gone. 'I remember there being lot of shops that I could buy my art materials and things to do with my course, and now it feels like it's all pound shops or charity shops or betting shops or completely empty. Or vape shops, which wasn't around then. 'I don't feel the need to come into the high street anymore, there isn't the draw to come in. 'The only time I come into the city centre is for the bank and when I come in in the mornings there are a lot of homeless people outside the shopfronts. 'The feeling isn't I'll come to the bank and stay for a coffee. 'There is an issue with homeless people and drug use here, which is sad. 'It's definitely deprived, far more evident now than it used to be. People haven't got the income to spend that money, and you haven't got the shops that will bring in people with money. 'Surrounding areas here are very deprived as well so it won't do much for the centre of Newport.' Louise Reece, 37, told of how she tends to avoid coming into the centre and had spent the last hour trying to find her baby daughter a red t-shirt but struggled to find any clothes shops. She said: 'I don't tend to come into Newport for shopping anymore. 'It feels abandoned, it's forgotten. 'If you go 20 minutes up the road to Cwmbran, it's thriving. So is Cardiff. 'But there's nothing here. I've seen towns with bigger high streets. I suspect its the lack of investment. The woman told the Daily Mail of how she had found herself walking up and down the high street trying to find a single clothes shop for her to buy her daughter a t-shirt 'They've done an impressive job on the riverfront, but Newport has just been left to fall apart. 'My son used to love going to Geek Retreat but that shut a few weeks ago. It's a board game shop, a great space for kids to come down. 'I'm walking up and down and there's nowhere to go get some baby clothes. There's loads of charity shops and vape shops but no clothes shops. I just need a red t-shirt for her. It shouldn't be so difficult. 'It's got a bad reputation across the board, it's probably the worst city across Wales. 'It is struggling. It's a cycle. People don't have jobs, can't afford to shop in the high street.' Cherie Adams, 64 has lived in Newport all her life and looked back at what it once was. She said: 'It has gone down. When I was in school it was really thriving. 'It was a good shopping centre. Now people want to go to Cwmbran or Cardiff. 'I suppose every high street is suffering but this one especially. 'It's gotten a lot worse with homeless people, beggars, it's more noticeable now. 'I try to avoid them. I feel sorry for them but don't want to be on the tail end of them. 'You can hear them shouting up the street and you can tell they have mental health issues and drug issues. 'There was a bloke in the centre the other day who was on Spice and they are obviously getting it from somewhere. 'It's sad because I have seen it decline. 'It's changed a lot and I was born and bred here. 'Covid hit it harder but before that it was still in the background if you get what I mean. It was still happening. 'Covid was sort of the death knell. It's not really ever recovered.' While Newport was listed by the thinktank as the city with the highest proportion of empty store units, London, Cambridge and Oxford had the lowest vacancy rates, with under 10 per cent of shops lying empty. Tesni Howells, 18, felt it was a lack of local investment and independent businesses that was killing Newport's high street. He said: 'The major changes I've seen in the city centre was probably the leisure centre being closed. 'We haven't had anything like that since that was closed about a decade ago. 'Nothing in Friars Walk ever stays there. 'It's the same thing with the markets. 'It's gone in favour of big businesses coming in and they're not staying because it's actually not very profitable. 'What I'd really like to see is less of the big business and have more local businesses.' Council leader Councillor Dimitri Batrouni said: 'We absolutely agree that the number of retail units in the city centre needs to be reduced as the centre is too big for present day demand. 'The challenge is that city centre properties are mainly privately owned, sometimes by absent and neglectful landlords and it will require significant investment to achieve a reduction. 'However, we are determined to transform our city centre to be fit for the 21st century. The placemaking plan set outs proposals to start that process. In due course, we will be setting out further ambitious plans for our centre.'
