In Radford, people have spoken out about their concerns regarding a “dodgy alleyway” - which people have said they would avoid day and night when by themselves. The jitty, on Middleton Street, has been subjected to fly-tipping in the past and several gas canisters were also recently dumped there.
Leon Peters, 59, is an artist who lives in Radford and he would like to see the jitty gone. He said: “It would be better if it was knocked down, it would be safer if it wasn't such a dogleg alley. In the day, you hear youths mucking about and I’ve seen some of them before, they look young and I think ‘why aren’t you at school?’
“I’m not scared to go in the alleyway, I usually do but I can understand why others - especially a lone female - wouldn’t. I wouldn’t want my daughter to walk down there at night either.”
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Leon, who has lived in the area for over 10 years, went on to say that in the past, many items have been left by the jitty including fridges, general rubbish and more recently, the gas canisters. Leon said: “Among general rubbish you do see some stupid every day items here and it’s not all the time but it has been treated as a dumping ground in the past.”
Unemployed Julia Andrews is 56 and from Radford. Julie understands people’s concerns about the jitty and said: “My children grew up playing out but nowadays even though my children are grown up I wouldn’t let my grandkids play out.
“It’s not even about kids with their hoods up because they aren’t all bad, it's just imagining at night being by yourself and having to walk through there where you can’t see who’s coming or going.
“God forbid but this alley would be the perfect place for a stabbing, drug deal or whatever else.”
Kirrah Priest is an employee of Eon Energy and has family who live near the jitty. The 19-year-old usually avoids that area and said: “There’s always people gathering there. From the back garden we can see into it.
“There’s people there day or night. I’ve not seen any rubbish there in a while. I know there is a camera somewhere there that has been installed but I don’t know if it works, I’d never cut through there by myself.”
A City Council spokesperson said: “We encourage anyone who spots litter, fly-tipping or any anti-social behaviour to contact us so we can deal with it to help keep our neighbourhoods clean and safe. We’re grateful to residents who report issues like this to us and we will always do our best to take action as quickly as possible. The best way to do this is online."