"I haven't left my house for months": The harsh reality of life on the estate dubbed 'one of the worst in Greater Manchester'
28.08.2022 - 11:37
/ manchestereveningnews.co.uk
Parents have been left scared to leave their homes and let their kids play in the park on an estate branded the 'worst in Rochdale'. Drug dealers, balaclava-clad gangs of teens and boy racers plague the Alkrington estate in Middleton, according to terrified locals.
"People are becoming fearful to live in their own homes. It's not right," explains a mum-of-two in the doorway of her home. "Twenty years ago when I moved in, it was a lovely place to live... but not anymore."
Shopkeepers told the MEN how they have been bombarded with racist abuse from teens who smashed windows. "I only feel safe when I close the shutters" said Pervaiz, who has worked at the village store for two years.
READ MORE Mum on her heartbreaking last moments with 'incredible' daughter as she died in hospital bed next to her
"They have broken the windows outside the shop. They come in with balaclavas and there is nothing we can do because their faces are covered.
"It's young people who roam about at night, and they are getting younger and younger. I am trying my best to keep reporting it and get something done. It is scary for us working in the area.
"There are mostly good people here. But there are a small group who aren't."
Another resident, who has lived behind the shops at The Downs for two decades, said it was a 'lovely' place to live when she first moved in. Now with two older sons, she tells theMENshe hasn't left her house in months due to her anxiety, which she said had worsened.
"There are a lot of drug dealings in the car park," she said. "At one time it wasn't like this at all. It was not a bad place to live, it was lovely, but not now. Just look what is happening.
"People can't even go into the shop. It's impacting so many families who