A STREET known for being one of the UK's most notorious red light districts has now become so run-down that even pimps refuse to work there.
Sex workers who used to regularly offer their services on the street corners of Manchester Road, a half-mile, arrow-straight thoroughfare running from the edge of Swindon’s town centre, have either quit or moved indoors for their own safety.
Knife crime, street robberies and other forms of violence have left most of the women too scared to work the busy street and the dozen or so roads and alleyways running off it.
Today, the network of lanes and alleys in and around Manchester Road are piled high with rubbish, animal faeces and discarded mattresses and electrical goods.
Apart from the plethora of Middle-Eastern and Polish mini-markets, barber shops and bookies, drug deals, violence and fly-tipping are the only activities that appear to be thriving.
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The collapse of a once-smart area of the Wiltshire town has left locals in despair.
Retired Royal Mail worker Les lived in a terraced house off Manchester Road for many years before moving into a flat in a “better area” recently to escape the social problems besetting this part of the town.
He said he knew it was time to move away when the pimps and prostitutes that poured into Manchester Road “in their dozens” every evening left the area.
“There’d be 30 or more sex workers here every night, and even a few in the day,” said father-of-four Les, 71.
“It was teeming with them, up and down Manchester Road and the side streets.
“They’d get the money off the punters up front, then take them into one of the alleyways nearby. Five minutes later, they’d be back in their spot looking for more business.
“Some of them used to make £1,000 a night, I was told.
“But lately it has got so rough and dangerous here, especially at night, it’s just not safe for them any longer.
“They’ve got no protection - you rarely see the police here - and they were carrying fairly significant amounts of money on them by the end of the night, so it just wasn’t sensible.
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“Most of them moved out. The pandemic and lockdown had kept many of them off the streets anyway and I think after that, maybe because of the additional poverty it caused, this area became totally unsafe.
“You see drug deals going on all the time nowadays and crime - knife crime in particular - has become an increasing part of the problem.”
So too, Les believes, has the “filth” left to rot at the side of the streets in and around Manchester Road.
“It used to be very smart and today around here, even though the locals were never particularly affluent.
“People round here had high standards and that meant everyone did their best to keep the place looking neat and tidy. In those days, no one would have dreamed of dropping their litter in the street, leaving ripped bin bags piled up everywhere.
“It’s a crying shame.”
'Like a ghetto'
Although street sex work appears to have abated in the area, there was evidence that it may be continuing.
We spotted used condoms and discarded condom packets thrown on the ground in the labyrinth of alleyways running behind and off Manchester Road.
Just last year, a crime gang set up a honeypot trap in and robbed a man’s phone and wallet, the Swindon Advertiser reported.
A court heard how a woman lured the man to an alleyway off Alfred Street, where he was then “set upon” by two men.
The alleyways and side streets in the area are also strewn with empty beer and cider cans, fast food cartons and old mattresses and electrical items, including fridges.
Piles of rubbish, some spilling out of torn bin bags, line the streets and alleyways, despite notices asking people not to. The adjacent walls are covered in graffiti.
“There’s no civic pride here nowadays,” shrugged another local, James, 48. “People have stopped caring and they’re treating it like a ghetto. Their junk is everywhere.
“It’s no wonder, though, because it feels like living in a ghetto now.
“I’m a big fella, but I don’t go out at night anymore. It’s just not safe. There are idiots wandering around with knives looking for trouble and I don’t want any.
“It’s true - it has got so bad here that even the prostitutes have moved out."
My partner won't even walk to the shops because people pester her
Simon Dempster
His pal, Bobby, added: “Drugs are the problem around here. You see kids on electric bikes moving the gear around these streets every night, sometimes in daylight hours too, but usually at night because it gives them more cover.
“They also make it impossible to know who they are because they wear face coverings all the time.
“They are an extremely intimidating sight - a menace for locals who, as a result, won’t leave their homes after dark.
“And where are the cops in all of this? I’ve no idea because no one ever sees them.”
Adrian, a Polish immigrant who moved to the UK six years ago and made Manchester Road his home in July this year, said he is “appalled” by the sight of rubbish piled up in the streets.
The 39-year-old said: “It’s filthy. It attracts rats and makes the place stink. People need to learn to be prouder of where they live but if they can’t, why can’t the local authority come in and clear it all away? It’s horrible.”
Public sex acts
Last year, Simon Dempster, who has lived on nearby Salisbury Street for more than 30 years, told his local newspaper that the area has "turned to rack and ruin" with no signs of improvement.
He told how he regularly clears away faeces deposited on his garage and used condoms strewn along the alley behind his home, sees fly-tipped rubbish, broken glass and debris piled up along the streets, and often hears screaming and shouting outside after dark.
After returning home from working one night, he saw a prostitute and a client engaging in a sex act right behind his house.
He said: "The streets around Manchester Road have been allowed to become a problem area, people just accept it's a red light district and a s**thole, which is despicable.
"It's like the Wild West out there, it's dreadful, with large groups of young lads driving around, congregating late at night and taking drugs. My partner won't even walk to the shops because people pester her.
"The council should be embarrassed and ashamed. The police don't have enough resources to tackle the problems because of government cutbacks and the council won't engage with the community or do anything to help.
"There are double yellow lines in the alley, so if you park your car you'll get a ticket, but if you're dealing drugs or prostituting yourself, apparently that's fine.
"It's always been a colourful part of town but it's become increasingly unsafe. My son learned to ride his bike in these alleys but you wouldn't let any child walk down them now - it's pitch black and there are junkies, drug dealers and street drinkers.”
He recalled a recent public meeting at the Broad Green Community Centre in which people told of how they had been burgled - sometimes more than once - or had to fight off purse snatchers in the street.
Inspector David Tippetts said at the time: “We are aware of ongoing issues in the Manchester Road area of Swindon and we work hard to ensure a visible policing presence to both deter criminality, keep people safe and apprehend and detain offenders.
“We are working closely with partners, including the local parish council and Swindon Borough Council, to address the concerns which have been raised.
“We would encourage people to always report information to the police.
“If a crime is in progress then you should call 999, but if you have concerns about ongoing criminality or anti-social behaviour, then please still report this to us, by either calling 101 or visiting our website.
“This information is fed back to the policing teams, and they can build on this intelligence to organise additional patrols in specific areas or tackle issues such as drugs activity by making arrests.”
But despite the senior cop’s assurances, crime in the area continues to proliferate.
In September this year, a staggering 46 cases of “violence and sexual offences” were recorded within a half-mile radius of Manchester Road, as well as 52 anti-social behaviour offences, nine bicycle thefts, five burglaries, 14 incidents of criminal damage and arson, six drugs offences, 15 thefts, two possession of weapons, 22 public order offences, two robberies, 35 cases of shoplifting, four “theft from the person” offences, 12 vehicle crimes, and four “other crimes”.
Adorabelle Shaikh, Swindon Borough councillor for the Central ward in that covers the Manchester Road area, said: “As a ward councillor representing the Broadgreen area since 2019, and a member of the Cabinet of the Labour administration that took control of the Council in May 2023, I know first-hand some of the long-standing challenges facing the community.
“It’s well documented that a national long-term reduction in funding to local government has impacted on the council’s ability to address issues like fly-tipping.
“Nevertheless, the council is a member of the Swindon Community Safety Partnership working closely with Wiltshire Police, the parish council and other partners to tackle crime in the area.
“This includes funding the installation of new CCTV cameras to help tackle fly-tipping where that happens on public land. We also received further funding from the Government’s Safer Streets Fund for additional cameras.
“Wiltshire Police’s Community Policing Team has a strong physical presence in the area to disrupt criminal activity and respond to incidents raised by the community.”
