Scared residents have said their estate is like a 'war zone' filled with prostitutes and drug users with needles and bloodied rags littering the streets.
The Little Ilford estate in Newham, East London, where pensioners and families with young children live, is just a short walk from two stations on the city's new Elizabeth Line. But, according to the residents, the estate has gone downhill dramatically in recent years, with disgusting sights of used needles, faeces, blood-stained rags and used condoms now almost a daily occurrence.
Older tenants who have lived on the estate for over 30 years say it's never been this bad and they're worried someone might die before the problems are sorted out. They say that the police take too long to arrive when they're called, or they don't show up at all.
Residents report that drug users, who act like 'zombies', use crack and heroin in shared areas of their tower blocks, which feel like 'prisons'. Drug dealers even break into storage sheds on the estate to run their drug businesses. "We've had enough," says Calvin Terry, who has lived on the estate for about 30 years.
Locals say the area is like a 'war zone' (No credit)
Residents say their pleas have been ignored (No credit)"This is our home. We shouldn't have to live like this. We have homeless people living in the shed area, leaving it like a pigsty, peeing everywhere. They use our building as a toilet. It's not fair."
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The Warrior Square estate, also known as Little Ilford, is sandwiched between the boroughs of Redbridge and Newham, near two stations on the Elizabeth Line - London's newest transport link that cost nearly £19 billion to build. Just outside the estate, there's a big sign that says: "Welcome to Newham, London, a place where people choose to live, work and stay."
The residents living on the estate see the irony in this sign. "We have prostitutes on the corner who fight all night," said 69 year old Mr Terry. "It's like a war zone. They use our building as a brothel. They come in here and do their business and take drugs.
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"The staircase is full of needles and used condoms. We have children here, working people, OAPs - a nice crowd. But everyone's scared. We try our best to gather evidence but it's risky. When you film these people, they don't like it."
The Met Police said sorting out these problems was 'among our top ward priorities'. But, the residents say their cries for help have been ignored by both the police and the local council. Mr Terry, who has lived on the estate for nearly thirty years, said he'd seen trouble before, but never this bad.
"It's like living in a prison," he said. "We're afraid in our own homes. Nobody wants to go outside after dark. People have been asked to get out of the building but they threaten to stab people. I'm terrified that eventually, someone will get hurt."
The police said tackling the problems on the estate was a top priority (No credit)Another resident, who has lived in Charlbury House on the estate for two decades, agreed that the situation had now become 'scary'. "I've walked out the back and seen prostitution in full effect," said the male resident, who gave his name as Max. "There are times when it spikes but recently it really has been quite nasty."
"We've had groups of people squatting, defecating, injecting drugs, drinking. You find urine on the stairs, by the bin rooms, the exits. On a daily basis I'm blocking people from coming in and they're trying to push past me. There's so much activity that it's scary. Honestly, it's bloody scary."
Another resident, who gave his name as Zac, said he'd also seen a 'dramatic' decline on the estate over the two decades he's lived there. "The number of homeless people, the prostitution - just the sheer disrespect," he said. "You find condoms in the bin room and I've seen human excrement in the bin room and the lifts, vomit. I've seen people jacking up with heroin and smoking crack in the stairwell."
Another resident, who gave her name as Sandra and has lived on the estate for over a decade, says she's stopped letting her young nephew visit as it's become too dangerous. "We'd go up the staircase and there were needles everywhere," she said.
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"A few years ago, there was a man in the building who would wander around with a machete in the early hours," he said. "We were told nothing could be done. It took a year before he was moved." Some people have broken into residents' storage sheds and started living in them or using them as places to take drugs.
There have been numerous reports of crimes (No credit)"You wouldn't believe what we've found in here before," Mr Terry added. "They've turned them into little offices where they package their drugs into small envelopes to sell." One resident filmed a man on the floor of the shed area, packing drug items including lots of needles into a backpack, while another said they found a couple taking drugs on a shared staircase.
"I called 101 but couldn't get anyone on the phone so I called emergency," he said. "They said they'd be out in an hour. That was six days ago. They never came. I called the council's antisocial behaviour team the next day but after waiting for an hour and a half with no answer, I gave up."
"I think they're short-staffed. Fifteen years ago you'd call and someone would answer. Now the service is terrible. It makes you feel very alone. You feel like an outsider." Packages have also started disappearing from outside residents' doors recently, with Mr Terry suggesting that 'the addicts obviously need to find money somehow'.
A delivery driver's vehicle and a resident's car were both also recently broken into. A resident has expressed his disappointment with the council following an incident that unfolded right outside his home. After requesting CCTV footage of the event, he says he was informed that the cameras which would have captured it "didn't work".
Residents want their estate to be improved (No credit)"This is our home," emphasises Mr Terry. He goes on to speak about their modest living conditions adding: "It may be meagre, we may not be rich - but we have our pride. We pay our council tax but we're not receiving a service. What does it take? Does someone have to get killed before anyone decides to do anything? "
Zac added that he'd lost all faith in any authority figure, including the police, addressing the situation at Little Ilford. "It's a shame," he laments, "because I really love my flat. But when you come out and see urine and burger sauce smeared around the building, it's not a nice place to live. We feel like our lives are rubbish, where we live is rubbish. No one cares about us and this is as good as it gets... And that's pretty sad."
Inspector Ganesh Rasaratnam from the Met Police's North East Command Neighbourhood Policing Unit said they know that bad behaviour linked to drugs and sex work can make people very unhappy. "We understand the misery to residents that can be caused by drugs and/or sex worker-related antisocial behaviour," he explained.
They keep an eye on places where trouble happens a lot, like Little Ilford, and they will keep doing this. "We regularly patrol hotspot areas, including Little Ilford, and will continue to do so.
Newham Council says it will continue efforts to make the estate safer (No credit)"However, crime is rarely committed while police are present and it is important that local people report offences and provide information so that we can build intelligence on those responsible and take action against them."
Newham Council works with the police to check places and stop bad behaviour 'across our housing estates'. They've made the ground look nicer and the shared spaces better, and they've set up groups for people to talk about what worries them.
A person speaking for the council said they will keep organising walks with people who live there, local groups, other organisations that can help, and councillors. They want to make sure everyone living in their homes feels safe and happy.
"We will continue to arrange regular walkabouts with residents, local groups and partner agencies and councillors to continue our efforts to make our estates safer and more secure living environments for all residents."
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