Birmingham suburb fights to see off eighth betting shop on high street

Basharat Dad, a local campaigner, said: ‘We’re getting to the stage where women and children are finding it difficult to go on to the high street because they don’t feel safe.’ Photograph: Fabio De Paola/The Guardian

Residents in a Birmingham suburb are fighting to stop an eighth betting shop opening on their high street, saying the shops are “changing the fabric of the local area”.

There are already seven betting shops in Erdington, which is among the 10% of the most deprived areas in the country, and a consultation over the opening of an eighth ends on Thursday.