‘It isn’t that bad living in Uxbridge Street’
RESIDENTS DEFEND AREA AFTER RECENT VIOLENT INCIDENTS
PEOPLE from a Burton street that has been the scene of violent attacks and disorder that sparked criticism of the area have been defending the place.
Incidents in Uxbridge Street have included a man found unconscious in the street with serious wounds and yobs who terrified staff at a takeaway when lit fireworks were fired inside. Some residents have also said there are issues with drug dealing and anti-social behaviour.
Police and forensics officers were back in the street at the weekend after an incident which saw a woman taken to hospital with stomach issues. Little more has been released by police on this matter, although three people have been arrested and released on police bail while enquiries continue.
The town’s MP Kate Griffiths has said Uxbridge area residents “deserve to feel safe” in their homes.
Anne Grantham has lived in Uxbridge Street for 26 years and says the area is just like any other area in the town – you get good people and you get some bad people.
After the latest incidents, Anne says she had never had a personal experience where anything bad has happened to her.
The 81-year-old said: “I live towards the start of Uxbridge Street and really enjoy where I live.
“I did hear about the recent problems in the area and from what I heard they were further down the street towards the end, but whatever it was shouldn’t have happened.
“The area is very cosmopolitan and the small area around where my house is has people from various parts of the world including, England, Poland, Pakistan and Kurdistan. Of course, over the years there has been a transition, new cultures have been moving into the area and that’s not been a issue, it’s what makes the street what it is.
“Like with any part in the country, you will get good and bad and that’s normal, it doesn’t mean everyone is bad or apart from crime nothing else happens here.
“We all get along with one another really well and genuinely it’s not all bad down here.”
Trevor Wright, chairman of the Burton Caribbean Association, in Uxbridge Street, feels the area encompasses everybody and the diversity of the community is probably the most across the town.
Mr Wright, who lives in Derby, said: “Being in such diverse part of the town it can have a negative impact on the community as it can be difficult to adjust and enable all communities are being represented.
“One thing we pride ourselves on at the BCA [Caribbean Association] is we offer our services to all the communities and that is shown in our bookings.
“We have members of the Pakistani and Polish community using the BCA for events and that’s what we aim to continue doing.
“Of course, there have been issues relating to crime which is not ideal but it’s up to the people in power to identify these issues, work with residents and look to overcome them.”
Another resident of the street, who did not want to be named, said: “If something bad does happen around here, we all get tarred with the same brush and that’s not nice.
“For the sake of some bad people all of us should not get judged and I don’t see that changing unfortunately. “The area does have some issues, most of the people living around here are working class and not very rich and that can lead to some issues and that’s why sometimes crime is resorted to.”
The fireworks incident at the Khyber Pass happened in November and was being treated as a hate crime by police. Video footage emerged on social media taken by the yobs as lit fireworks were fired into the takeaway, which caused hundreds of pounds damage. In another incident a woman was jailed for harassing two vulnerable men. Claire Broome, of Anglesey Road, was jailed for 28 weeks after officers from the East Staffordshire neighbourhood policing team discovered she had broken the breached.
The 38-year-old had been harassing two men within the Uxbridge area and was found to have breached her restraining order preventing her from contacting them by knocking on their front door on both April 1 and April 3, a court was told.
She was charged with two counts of harassment by breaching a restraining order and pleaded guilty. As well as the 28-week jail term, she was also ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £128.
There have been issues relating to crime, but it’s up to the people in power to identify these issues. Trevor Wright