Residents have spoken about what it is like to live on a notorious street where they fear to leave their homes at night, and prostitutes stand in the alleys charging £1 a time. A pensioner who lives on Slade Road in Stockland Green said he is continually propositioned by cut-price prostitutes asking: "Can you spare a pound... wanna do anything?"
Other residents have spoken about dealers, drug dens, burglaries and violence on the street. Some residents said they are so frightened that when they return home they rush to lock themselves inside as intimidating groups hang around drinking on street corners, reports BirminghamLive.
One resident, aged in his 80s, who asked not to be named, said: "I've been propositioned three of four times by prostitutes. These are young girls - maybe early 20s, possibly Eastern European. I only wanted to go to the shops and get some bits and bobs and I have to keep declining their offers.
"It's very tiresome. This area has got worse and worse over time. It has so many issues with drugs and other crime."
Another resident Gordon Stamford, 69, said he suffered a burglary at his home - which he believes caused his beloved dog to die from a heart attack. He said: "They came through the back and raided the home.
"They took lots of things and money for the grandchildren. My dog later died from a heart attack, which I think was triggered by the stress of the break-in. It was my mum's dog, which I looked after when she died. It was so sad.
"I'd like to move but the thing is I'm stuck in this council home and at my age - that's it. I'd love to move but I feel trapped. I used to go to the social club and walk back at 2am or 3am, but I wouldn't dream of doing that now - it just isn't safe."
Another local, said: "I don't feel safe here. I'm just visiting my mum who has lived here since the 1970s. I grew up here and went to school here.
"A man tried to rob my mum when she went to the shops. I think he was on drugs. He later came back and apologised to her.
"Now I'm very conscious of who I speak to. I get out the car and get straight through the gates and into the house. There are a lot of HMOs, some have been closed down, but many others are still here which doesn't help the situation."
Another resident, in his 70s, said: "There was a drugs den up from us. We rang the police a number of times before it was shut down. I think it's been empty about a year now. There's loads of drugs that still go on, street dealing moving it around and you can smell drugs in the air.
"There was also a bail hostel down the road. It was terrible. Ex-cons fighting, shouting and drinking out in the street. It was frightening. Thankfully that went about a year ago. But living here is a bit of a nightmare. I'd never go out at night. I'd be too scared to."
A retired bus driver added: "Around here is particularly bad. I remember it being one of the worst places in Birmingham for fare dodgers."
Boarded up window and smashed plant pots could be seen at the home on Slade Road (Image: BirminghamLive)
Five teenage girls were arrested in the area by armed police as disorder erupted on Wednesday. Windows and plant pots were broken during the carnarge outside a semi-detached property on the street. The girls were later bailed by police.
In a different incident, police raided a house and discovered a huge cannabis farm with 170 plants and 3kg of deal-ready cannabis - together worth an estimated £200,000 - on January 19.
Last week, Patrick Gallon, of Slade Road, was jailed for over four years after the burglar struck at a sheltered housing complex. The 40-year-old got inside, stole a resident's purse and spent money on himself.
In November last year, police removed a "violent tenant" after he allegedly refused to leave his accommodation in Slade Road. They had been called by the housing provider to assist with the incident. The police liaised with the housing team and other agencies and he was moved on. Erdington Police said "his presence was not conducive with the environment within the area."
One of the worst incidents on Slade Road involved a knifepoint robbery in April 2012. Gangster Cedric Brown, whose street name was ‘The Skipper’, was fleeing a burglary when he car-jacked a mum-of-two and sped off in her Ford Focus with her toddlers - aged one and two - strapped inside. Thankfully her children were unharmed.
