FED-up locals from a region recently dubbed the worst place to live in England have labelled it a "dump" full of beggars and casinos.
And it's so bad parents send their kids to school in another county.
Residents of Rushmoor, Hampshire, complain of eight-hour ambulance wait times and kids lining the streets to beg.
It comes as the area plunged to the very bottom of a recent study ranking the liveability of every local authority in Britain.
Analysis by The weighed factors like crime rates, housing prices, Ofsted reports and GP waiting times to find the spots in which Brits are most and least happy to live.
At number 291, Rushmoor was considered the worst of the bunch in England - and those living there seem to agree.
Though not a town or city, Rushmoor is a district that covers two neighbouring towns - Aldershot and Farnborough - and it is run by Rushmoor Borough Council.
Sian Lewis, who works as an administrator in Aldershot, told The Sun: "For someone that works here, Aldershot is a dump.
"Do you know what, because I live some where pretty nice, it really makes me see that there are so many casinos.
"They're putting in things that cause poverty."
In Aldershot town centre, drug users can be seen loitering around a phone box and pacing along the high street.
Five betting shops can be found within 200 metres of each other, while a bargain shop in the centre has been demolished, leaving an eyesore gap in the row of shops.
And one woman, having a conversation with a friend on the high street, can be overheard chatting about her recent return from jail.
Taking in her surroundings, Sian Lewis told how she has encountered some nasty experiences in the area - including being followed by "really strange people".
"I've had to pretend I was looking somewhere else, looking to go in a shop, and I don't know what they're going to do," the 47-year-old said.
"I just think he was high or something."
The mum-of-one has also seen children begging on the streets and said matters get worse outside of term time.
"In the holidays we get kids coming in from I don't know where begging," she said.
"I don't know if they're part of a gang or if it's just local kids trying their luck to get some free money."
A 2024 report by the council found Rushmoor to be of the highest deprived districts in Hampshire.
It also found the area's crime rate to be higher than the county's average per 1,000 population.
Student nurse Anna-Marie Mcadoo used to work as a discharge co-ordinator in the NHS and she's lived in Aldershot since she was 12 years old.
She said she won't let her 15-year-old daughter go into town too much because of "drunks" and the "overall environment".
And she has sent her daughter to a school in Surrey because of the bad reputation of schools in their local area.
"It does have that sense of feeling like a deprived area, definitely," the 51-year-old said.
This doesn't go for all of Rushmore, though. The Times data pointed out that a high proportion of schools in the wider area are rated 'Outstanding' by Ofsted.
Anna-Marie added: "I suppose in terms of health, in my sense, my daughter has been waiting for an autism assessment and it could take still another two years so I would say in terms of meeting people's health needs they could improve definitely.
"People not being able to get GP appointments face to face is bad. I don't know why because Covid's long gone."
NHS waiting times were ranked among the worst in England by The Sunday Times - coming in 276th position.
Satisfaction with GPs - measured by the number of people who rated their GP 'good' in the area - was also low, in 250th place.
Miss Mcadoo noted that a lot of people are in hospital beds when they don't need to be and not enough is being spent on social services in the area.
And she said: "They would just end up stuck in a bed for months and it's disgusting, really."
For someone that works here, Aldershot is a dump.
Sian Lewis
Another nurse, Onyinyechi Ndukwe, works on the outskirts of Rushmoor in New Frimley Park Hospital.
When she once had to go to the hospital as a patient, she said an ambulance she called for arrived eight hours after her initial call.
"They didn't come until I got to the hospital," she explained. "After eight hours. It was urgent because I couldn't really walk.
"They keep saying you're breathing, that's ok, you're breathing. So I had to use a taxi to the hospital."
Miss Ndukwe, who was in pain, then didn't see a doctor for hours after arriving at hospital.
However, Mr Subramanian, who has a six-year-old daughter, is not happy with the GP waiting list which can see him wait between one and three months to see a doctor.
"NHS, we have some waiting time," he said.
"The new elected representatives promised these issues would be sorted, but let's wait and see."
It does have that sense of feeling like a deprived area.
Anna-Marie Mcadoo
Others are more optimistic.
Carole Gaines, a civil servant from Farnham, has lived in Aldershot for 40 years - and she likes living in Rushmoor.
The Leader of Rushmoor Borough Council, Councillor Gareth Williams, said: "We don't recognise such a negative view of Aldershot.
"Aldershot has a strong and proud legacy of military history and a massive sense of community.
"Like any busy town, we know that local public services, like the police and health services, can be under pressure.
"That's why when we took over the administration of the council last year, we made a firm commitment to our residents to work with them to improve our towns and communities, and we are delivering that through the development of our strategic priorities that will bring about long-term change.
"We are fortunate that as well as its history, Aldershot also has lots of green spaces and a town centre, which is at the heart of our community.
"We are proud of facilities such as the Princes Hall theatre and the West End Centre, our vibrant Thursday market, regular craft fayres and a packed calendar of events in the town throughout the year, including Victoria Day, when our community comes together to parade and celebrate our town.
"We recognise that antisocial behaviour can still be a concern for people, and although measures like the Public Space Protection Order in Aldershot have helped, we’re committed to taking further action.
"Tackling the complex causes of antisocial behaviour— like substance abuse and mental health challenges —requires a long-term, collaborative effort from all sectors, and we will continue to work closely with our partners to make sure our residents get the services they need."
She said: "I like living in Aldershot. It's 40 minutes from Gatwick and 40 minutes from Heathrow. It's close to the coast."
She also hasn't experienced issues with the NHS in the area.
The 65-year-old said: "Yes, the town has been run down certainly, but there's lots to do."
The mum-of-two raised her two grown-up children in Aldershot.
Julie Duffield, 64, also doesn't have a problem with Aldershot.
On hearing the news about Rushmoor's new status as the worst place to live in the UK, she said: "That's a shame, isn't it?
"There's always room for improvement isn't it, everywhere."
Chief Inspector Gillian Cox, District Commander for Hart and Rushmoor, said that crime has been "falling" in Rushmoor, adding that the force has seen a 3.2 per cent reduction in all crime in 2024 compared with 2023.
She said: "Our most recent year-to-date data shows that burglary is down 24.7 per cent, bicycle theft is down 51.9 per cent, most-serious violence is down 22.2 per cent and there has been a slight reduction in anti-social behaviour.
"In terms of charges, we have seen a 24 per cent rise in those charged and put before the courts in relation to all crime within Rushmoor.
"We know that there is still work to be done and our teams have been working proactively in all areas of the district where residents tell us that certain crime types are an issue.
"The recent introduction of Dedicated Neighbourhood Officers means that our neighbourhood policing teams are more closely linked in with their communities than ever before and are gathering increasing amounts of intelligence on where the problems are within their district.
2We also have a dedicated Priority Crime Team, which focuses on drug-related harm, child sexual and criminal exploitation, domestic abuse and most serious violence.
"We will continue to disrupt criminality with a visible police presence, targeted operations and by working closely with partners and residents within Rushmoor.
"Our focus remains on keeping Rushmoor a safe place to live, work and visit."
The retired nurse thinks Aldershot is ";alright" and "you just get used to where you live, really".
Mrs Duffield added: "There could be worse places… apparently not."
Responding to NHS wait times in the area, a spokesperson for NHS Frimley, said: “NHS Frimley takes its responsibility for ensuring timely access to care extremely seriously for all residents who live within our boundaries.
"For our population in Rushmoor, 91% of residents receive a GP appointment within 14 days. Average waiting times for elective surgery for Rushmoor residents are some of the lowest in our geography and local ambulance response times are consistently amongst the best nationally.
"We do understand that not all residents receive the access to care which they expect and when specific instances are brought to our attention, we work with NHS partners to address these concerns.”
A spokesperson for the South East Coast Ambulance Service, added that it works hard to respond to all patients "as quickly as possible while prioritising our response to our most seriously ill and injured patients".
"While we recognise there is more to be done to improve response times overall, we are pleased that in our region, including Rushmoor, we are consistently ahead of the national average for response times and for Category 2 calls, where the majority of our calls fall, we are currently the highest performing ambulance service nationally."
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