Locals living on an estate overrun with drug dealers and sex workers say they are scared to leave the house – and claim police have ‘given up’ on protecting them.
Residents of Townley Court in Stratford, east London, have spoken of being mugged multiple times – while children reported witnessing sex acts on their way to school.
Locals admit they’re scared to leave, or sometimes even peer outside the windows of their homes, and many say they have given up calling the police due to the lack of effective response.
The estate has now become so lawless that disabled people report having had guns pulled on them and sex workers have reportedly offered their trade in the open while naked near playing children.
In April alone, 166 crimes were recorded by the Metropolitan Police in the area.
Some residents claim they have been threatened by criminal elements using the estate
In other areas, knives have been found dumped in the undergrowth by gang members
Residents in Townley Court in Newham, east London, claim they are living in constant fear
They complain there are not enough police in the area to stop drug addicts from openly getting high on the street
Others complain that sex workers ply their trade on the streets in full view of children
Of which, violence and and sexual offences account for one in four crimes on the estate according to figures for April 2024.
Graffiti referencing a ‘Demon Gang’ has also appeared.
Residents fear it will take a death before action is taken.
One furious mother 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 on a client in broad daylight and in full view of playing children.
One disabled resident, who challenged a gang inside his building, says he had a gun pulled on him.
‘We’re under siege,’ said one resident who asked to remain anonymous. ‘It’s like a horror show.’
‘It’s so dangerous around here,’ a neighbour added.
‘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.’
Some have complained that sex workers have been seen walking around while naked
Others have suggested clients have been robbed by sex workers using the estate
He said one of the gang even smirked at him, boasting: ‘You can’t do nothing.’
‘I’m frightened sometimes to even look outside, in case they see me,’ one mother living on the estate said.
‘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.
‘Sometimes police drive right past people openly doing drugs and do nothing.’
As a result of their inactivity, many residents said they had now given up calling the police at all.
‘The police talk to us like we’re a crowd of idiots,’ one man said. ‘They have a script and they just stick to it.’
Locals fear retribution if they speak out publicly about the criminal elements in the area
Locals claim there is evidence of drug dealing and consumption around common areas of the estate
Townley Court residents also complain of bodily fluids such as vomit on the floor of the estate
‘It’s as if the police and the council are scared of them,’ a woman added.
‘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’.’
The Metropolitan Police said they have been engaging with sex workers during patrols and referring them to outreach services where possible.
They also said they are conducting overt and covert patrols to counter anti social behaviour.
In a briefing to residents, the Met claimed: ‘Those causing ASB will be issued with a Community Protection Notice.’
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.
‘I feel sorry for them,’ one man said. ‘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.’
Here an empty can of strong cider is dumped beside a packet of condoms
Amid fallen leaves on the ground there is a used condom next to a roll-your-own cigarette
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 added that sex workers also sometimes rob their customers, leading to shouting and screaming.
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 passed out in the street.
The London Ambulance Service was last 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 a gang member, saying: ‘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.’
Another time, the resident claimed the gang stole his children’s trainers.
‘Every night I have a phone call from my Mrs saying, “They’re here, they’re fighting, they’re p******, they’re s*******,”‘ he added.
‘We find needles, condoms… Every morning I have to clean the stairwell before I take my kids to school.’
The man added that abusive messages were scrawled on his building after his wife simply asked suspected gang members 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 doorway.
The Met Police claimed not to know of any named gang linked to the estate
Urine and suspected drug wraps were visible in the man’s stairwell, whilst 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.
Locals claim a group of ruffians styling themselves as the Demon Gang operate on the estate
When addicts realised locals had started filming them, some started taking their drugs behind umbrellas.
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.
But no action seems to have been taken, though The Met said it was ‘aware of a potentially suspicious vehicle’ and was ‘investigating’.
‘Someone is going to get killed,’ one man said. ‘We’re all suffering.’
Residents said the authorities carried out ‘pointless’ daylight patrols, despite the problems overwhelmingly occurring overnight.
‘We have carried out numerous tasking patrols but unfortunately all the issues raised happen outside of operational hours,’ Newham Council admitted.
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.’
Recently, the woman’s car was broken into.
But when she started parking further away as a result, 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.
‘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.
‘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 said.
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.’
