Trapped at home and ‘just used to violence’: life on the streets where people are afraid to go out

On an afternoon in May, families walk their little ones home after school, while others chat with their neighbors from their front yards. These terraced streets are a community like any other.

But at night residents living around Rosedale Road, a street that leads to a lane on the border of Fallowfield and Moss Side, say they feel “trapped” in their own homes.

Last Sunday an 18-year-old man was rushed to hospital with serious injuries following a stab wound in Rosedale Road, the third time they have been called to an attack in the area This year. After the stabbing, officers cordoned off the section of the alley.



Police were called after an 18-year-old was stabbed

It’s this lane, not far from Manchester City’s old Maine Road stadium, where anti-social behavior and crime, the stench of cannabis and the noise of fights are becoming the norm, according to locals who spoke to the Manchester Evening News . .

READ MORE: Rated out of Moss Side by bachelor parties and ravers – life on the wrong side of the area’s massive Airbnb boom

Residents – many of whom speak anonymously for fear of being targeted – paint a picture of growing intimidation and fear. One man, who has lived on Middleham Street since the 1990s, says what is happening is typical of many neighborhoods – but is getting worse.

“You would be hard pressed to find anyone living here who would be shocked to hear someone was stabbed or attacked,” he begins. “I raised two sons here and I feel like we actually have a close community, but anti-social behavior is rife.

“We would all love to see more security cameras and lighting here, especially in that alley there, because that would be a deterrent to those people who think they can get away with whatever they do. “

Meanwhile, an elderly landlady who has lived in her Dorset Avenue home for 50 years told MEN she no longer leaves the house at night, leaving her feeling ‘trapped’.



The lane between Rosedale Road and Lloyd Street South

“Many years ago we could walk to see our friends at night. Before it was safe, but now I stay behind my door or have to look over my shoulder. It makes you feel caught in the trap.

“It used to be such a nice neighborhood but now the alley attracts so much crime it’s an easy getaway. I live alone and was pretty scared so I got a dog to feel more safe.

“More cameras in the area would definitely be a solution because we could see what is going on. I thought of putting cameras outside my own house because rocks have been thrown at my window so many times .

“I’m right behind all the shops where the gangs hang out, and you can just smell the weed all the time, it’s just awful, it stops me from being able to sit in my garden. I’m sorry for my neighbors who raise such young children.

“The biggest problem is the stabbing and the violence, it’s really quite common. It happens so much more than you get used to now. These days I stay because you just don’t know about who you can bump into or what they might do to you.”



Stabbings and outbursts of violence are ‘common’, residents say

Others have expressed their desire to move away from the area after being “threatened” outside their own doorstep. Another said to MEN: “This alley is a public promenade but there is constant crime. There are no cameras or lighting at all, despite residents asking for it, and then another stabbing happens.

“It’s been going on for too long and people are fed up, they’ve had enough. It’s gotten much worse in the last 12 months, gangs with balaclavas and guns. It’s just relentless.”

It is not just those who live on these streets who are witnessing the spike in crime, local businessmen are also at risk. A shop owner also described large groups of young men wearing balaclavas on the streets, adding: “There are stabbings or attacks left and right, it’s never been like this.

“People come into the store to tell us about it, many of them have lived here for 40 or 50 years and think they have no choice but to move because it’s gotten so bad and scary. for them.”

Councilor Mahadi Mahamed, deputy executive member for family poverty, told MEN that more patrols have been requested for the area. “We are aware of the issues raised by our residents and are very saddened by the recent incidents in the area,” he said.

“While we agree that crime may have increased at this time of year, as is often the case during the summer, we have not had any information from GMP indicating that crime in general has increased in Moss Side.We believe that some of the burglaries and ASB’s problems in this part of the neighborhood (around Dorset Avenue) were carried out by an individual who we believe is currently in police custody.

“We are constantly engaging with our partners, including GMP, to reassure our residents and support them in any way we can. We have asked GMP for more patrols in the area, with a focus on knife crime and the drug traffic.

“We have recently installed CCTV cameras in parts of the area to help us with crime. Although we would have liked to extend this to all areas affected by crime in the region, we currently do not have funding for this, but we are doing our best to identify where we can find additional funding to support this.

“We will continue to work with our partners to combat youth crime and improve security in the region.”

Approached for comment, Greater Manchester Police said CCTV and door-to-door inquiries were underway following the recent knife attack and no arrests had yet been made.

READ MORE: BREAKING: Teen, 18, rushed to hospital with serious injuries after stabbing in south Manchester

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