Our forgotten town is now a thieves’ playground – it’s so unsafe you don’t leave home alone… grans get robbed in Asda
TAKING deep drags of cigarettes and swigging super-strength cider, the crowd seems blissfully unaware of the morning rush to work.
It’s 10am in Walsall town centre and the group, around 15 in number, are strewn along the benches and shopfronts shielding from the rain.
Nearby, two stabbings occurred within three days of each other last month and now locals are “terrified” that their once thriving market town has become a "dangerous place to be".
Walsall was identified as one of five neighbourhood crime hotspots in England and Wales – alongside Barry, Clacton, Oldham and South Tyneside – by the think-tank Onward.
The organisation claims these “left-behind” areas need urgent help tackling antisocial behaviour and the locals we spoke to couldn’t agree more.
McDonald’s worker Lisa Turner, 54, who relocated from London seven years ago, says no one comes to Walsall anymore because they are too scared.
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“There’s so much crime because everyone’s digging deep now, that’s why, because people ain’t got no money,” she explains.
“Businesses are having their windows put through. My girl works in Foot Asylum and the shop got rammed last month.
“They’ve still got wood boards up. They did the glass in and took a load of the clothes.
“Phones have been robbed and people are stealing vapes to sell on too. I think it’s only going to get worse.
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“Last Christmas, an old girl came in crying because her shopping trolley with all of her Christmas food in it got robbed from Asda.”
Lawlessness is a big concern here and for good reason. Walsall has a crime rate 82 per cent higher than the national levels in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
In the last six years, there’s been a 71 per cent increase in recorded offences – up from 6,450 in 2016 to 11,045 in 2022 – and roughly 151 crimes per 1,000 people.
Teens steal & I can't stop them
Down a graffiti-sprayed alley leading to the nearby bus station, shopkeeper Alan Aziz, 43, is plagued by teenagers who shoplift from his business KNN News.
“They come in together as a group to steal sweets and block your view so you can’t see them while they slip items up their sleeves,” he tells us.
“A couple of times they took a full box of vapes and ran away, I had to move the boxes. When I called the police they didn’t seem to care.”
Minutes into our chat, a hooded teenager enters the shop and Alan subtly points him out as one of the regular thieves – but says he can’t do anything about it.
“I have to be like his friend because if I’m not, he and his group make too much trouble for my business,” he says.
“Whenever I see him, I say ‘Hi’ but that’s it. I can’t do anything about what’s happening. I chased a few of them but you can’t do anything when you catch them.”
Alan would like to see an increased police presence on the streets, particularly between 2.30pm and 4pm when kids have left school.
But it’s not just troubled teens who locals identify as the problem.
They claim “the drunks, homeless and drug users”, who hang around in the nearby square, cause big issues.
“Every morning there are fights here, they are sat drinking beer and whiskey all of the time,” says market trader Makhal Singh, 63.
“Somebody was stabbed two weeks ago. People are afraid to come to this town. Older people used to come here but now they are too scared.
“People have tried to steal the money from my pocket. Once I called the police and they asked the thief if she wanted to make a case against me for harassment. It’s ridiculous.”
'Charity shops can't survive'
Makhal’s business Max Fashion, which he’s run since 1981, is one of few to survive. But it’s come at a cost - he’s been forced to close three of four stalls.
Walsall once boasted a “thriving” half-a-mile-long strip of stalls, which attracted people from as far away as Shrewsbury, which is 37 miles away.
Nowadays, there’s only a small scattering of fewer than 20 stalls spread throughout the town. Many instead visit the nearby city of Birmingham to do their shopping.
Heading up the steep hill towards St Matthew’s Church, the old market quarter is a shell of its former self and all but one of the stands’ metal skeletons are empty.
Michelle Ash, 37, who works at the lone remaining stall, AK Fruit And Veg, says: “It was lockdown. It’s killed us, we do half the trade we used to.”
She explains that the market traders used to be able to operate five days a week – all apart from Wednesday and Sunday – and now they can only do two.
Michelle adds: “We used to make quite a bit on Monday alone, we’d have to do three days to make that up. No business can survive, even a charity shop nearby can’t keep open.
“It feels like whoever is in charge of the town is personally trying to run us into the ground.”
The stall’s manager Nigel Phillips, 59, has worked at the family-run business since he was nine years old and says local leaders have “absolutely killed this town”.
He believes they “no longer want the markets” and should do more to help traders, like offering customers free parking and reviving the five-day markets – currently, they can only open for two.
“Walsall used to be a good town three or four years ago, we used to have a queue right the way around the stall,” Nigel adds.
“The markets have been here for decades but now it’s gone right down. They have killed it, they have absolutely killed this town.”
'Civil war on public'
Along a cobbled street where cigarette butts fill the cracks, a large group of daytime drinkers doss around with 7.5 per cent K Cider, which costs £1.05 per can.
At night, things get considerably worse, with some claiming there have been muggings and brutal fights erupting in the streets.
Former Walsall resident Charlie Degville says his “fond memories” growing up on “nice and safe” council estates are long gone.
The accountant, 25, tells us: “You couldn’t pay me to go now, it’s that bad at the minute. My sister is 13 and I wouldn’t feel safe with her playing on the streets, crime is running rampant.
“When I used to go out in Walsall, I’d see fights breaking out in the middle of the streets and the back alleys. You’d see people smacking ten shades of s*** out of each other.
“I had a friend who was nearly stabbed in the town centre, he was held up for his money. It’s utter lawlessness because police presence is basically zero, even the police station closed.”
Student Maisie Wakeman, 19, also believes “it’s definitely more dangerous” and has witnessed “a lot of stealing and fights” in public.
Donna Ford, 41, who’s on ESA benefits, says the increasing level of crime has left her and others “too scared to come out of our homes”.
She says: “My nephew visited from Western-super-Mare and I told him I had to pick him up from the train station to make sure he was safe. It shouldn’t be that way.
“Walsall has got worse in recent years, it’s escalated to the point where you feel you can’t walk out of your own home without going with two of you.
“There needs to be more police patrols and stop and search, especially for the younger generations, that said some of the older ones aren’t exactly great either.”
Locals also believe the high street’s decline follows a lack of funding and popular shops closing down.
Donna says: “There’s a Boots and a New Look but there needs to be more appealing shops and things to make people want to come here, like food markets.”
'Fake goods are rife'
Many lament the many shop closures that have crippled the high street and have since been replaced with “off-brand clothing stores”.
Walsall will receive £25million as part of the Government’s Towns Fund programme, which will help to “level up” forgotten areas.
Other attempts to modernise the area included The Crown Wharf retail park, which boasts a plush cinema and Ninja Warrior course.
While the spot was praised by locals, they felt it was “on the outskirts” of the main town and wouldn't help the high street.
They explain that the high street has “remained exactly the same for that last 20 years” and now looks “dingy”, “rundown” and “tatty”.
Student Charlie Bates, 18, points out a number of shops that are boarded up and claims others have been replaced with “knock-off” stores that sell counterfeit goods.
He says: “There are a lot more shops selling fake things here. From dangerous vapes to clothes because they can get them cheaper and sell them at the normal price.”
Charlie alleges some sell fake versions of the insanely popular Prime Hydration drink, which is made by YouTubers Logan Paul and KSI.
An investigation by The Sun found some retailers selling for up to £100 per bottle but in Walsall, some are flogged for a fiver.
He says: “There’s a lot of the shops selling fake Prime drinks, you can tell because they don’t have the rings at the bottom. Only Asda has the real ones around here.”
Students Kyle, 16, and Ryan, 15, agree that they would be more enticed to stick around the area if there was better offerings available to them.
“There’s no hope here,” Kyle says. “They need more designer shops. If I want to buy stuff I have to go to Brum (Birmingham).”
Ryan adds: “The price for everything here is going up too, you can’t come here unless you bring £10 with you to spend.”
Chief Superintendent Phil Dolby, the policing commander for Walsall, told The Sun that officers had shift patterns to "ensure visible policing".
He highlighted their efforts to ensure this for the "town centre’s night-time economy right into the very early hours of the morning each and every weekend".
Ch Supt Dolby added: "Along with the licensees and other businesses, we are working hard to make the town centre safer on a 24/7 basis."
He explained that the force's recent restructure will see the council host "even more officers and vehicles" at the Civic Centre.
He said: "Within a few months, a contingent of 999 response teams will be back in Walsall town centre for the first time since 2016.
"Another element of our force restructure this week is that local response teams, investigation teams and proactive teams focused on local issues are now all under local command.
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"I have set my officers and I the challenge to attend more incidents more quickly, investigate more crimes, arrest more suspects and put more offenders into the Criminal Justice System.
"All of this whilst being focussed on our communities and building their trust.”