Locals blast crime-hit Sheffield ‘ghetto’ where 6,000 Eastern European immigrants have settled since 2012
Scared Brit residents speak of feeling 'like a foreigner' after influx which they claim has 'ruined community'
A BOMBSHELL report yesterday warned that parts of Britain have been turned into ghettos.
Government integration adviser Dame Louise Casey said whole areas have changed beyond all recognition because of a failure by governments to handle mass immigration.
One of them is Page Hall in Sheffield, which has absorbed 6,000 Roma and other Eastern Europeans, mostly since 2012.
The Sun visited the estate, described by residents as a crime-plagued, litter-strewn “Roma ghetto”.
Families told yesterday how an influx of immigrants had left them suspicious, resentful — and frightened.
An estimated 6,000 Roma and other Eastern European immigrants have arrived to live on Sheffield’s Page Hall estate in four years.
And residents say the influx has destroyed their community.
Taxi driver Imran Khan, 38, born in Page Hall and of Pakistani origin, said: “It’s turned into ghetto land.
“There’s nothing wrong with immigration as long as it’s controlled. The problem is it’s not.
“There’s an influx of Eastern Europeans, mainly Slovakians, and they are here to claim benefits. They’re too lazy to work.
“We stick to our own groups and faiths and rarely interact. Living in a community shouldn’t be like that.
“The Slovaks and Romas cause conflict. You put your clothes out to dry and they’ll get pinched.”
The trickle of immigration began after Slovakia’s entrance to the EU in 2004, where the majority of Roma on the small estate come from.
But there was a huge explosion in numbers after 2012.
A local supermarket security guard said: “When I go to the gym it’s full of Slovaks and Romas and I feel isolated. They don’t want to be your mate and half can’t speak English.
“The place has been invaded by immigrants. I feel like a foreigner in my own country.”
On Robey Street, two mattresses, an old cooker and a sofa lie dumped outside the row of terraces, some of which are boarded up.
One gran living on the estate told us: “I don’t go to the shops after 8am as that’s when they start to roam the streets.
“I don’t carry a handbag because it will be stolen.”
related stories
Speaking through a security gate at his terraced house, her neighbour Mark said: “They hang around in groups. They won’t move for a woman with a pushchair. And they’re filthy.”
Pensioner Anne, who has lived there for 40 years, said: “It’s all about them now — they get all these benefits and help, but we get nothing. We can’t even get a doctor’s appointment.”
Many complain of not being able to get in at Page Hall Medical Centre, which has 860 Slovak Roma on its books, 12 per cent of all patients.
Last year there were 145 robberies in Page Hall — the highest in Sheffield outside the city centre.
Rents are cheap and the average house price rise of 18.96 per cent in the area since 2012 is significantly lower than the national average increase of 24.3 per cent.
The number of Roma children in local schools has rocketed from 150 to almost 2,500.
In 2014, 2,000 people signed a petition demanding an end to attacks by Roma gangs at Hinde House secondary school, which takes in Page Hall kids.
One headteacher reported 8.9 per cent of Roma children reading and 3.5 per cent writing at Key Stage 1, compared to 80.1 per cent and 70.3 per cent among the general population.
Even as far back as 2013, David Blunkett, former Home Secretary and then local MP, warned of riots because of rising tensions.
Mark Payne, an expert in the Roma community who works at the University of Sheffield’s Department of Educational Studies, agrees the sudden influx caused problems.
He said: “No one was really prepared. The number coming over to Sheffield from Slovakia really mushroomed in 2011/2012.
“The Roma people are suspicious of officialdom and that has been a big barrier to overcome.”
Suhail Ahmed, from Immigration Services — a body that helps Asian immigrants with their visas — said:
“We have different nationalities here and it causes a divide.
“But the ghetto situation is getting better because of stricter requirements for benefits.”
Slovakian teenager David Ziga moved to the area eight years ago “to get a better life”.
He works as a factory food packer and hit back at critics who say his countryfolk are scroungers.
He said: “I work hard and so do others. I love it here.”