No go Britain? Wales

You can use the post form to send us your reports about your neighbourhood in Wales.

If you have still or moving pictures please email them to [e-mail] and make sure you include captions.

Read the Terms and Conditions for sending pictures to the BBC.

Terms & Conditions

Return to story page

Your reports

Washington, Tyne and Wear
Hi we have lived in our home on a private estate for the last 9 years i recently moved to a detached property on the estate. My next door neighbours have constantly harrassed and intimidated us. The police and local authority advise they can do nothing!! This country is such a soft touch. We are helpless as no one will do anything. We keep geting passed from pillar to post. Our house is also affected as my neighbour has a building site which borders onto our garden what looks like its our land. The local authority say they can do nothing. So if we ever decide to sell our property it will depriciate in value due to police contact and the building site attached to our property. All i can say if it was an MP, police officer etc things would be different!

Seaham
You should visit Seaham (Dawdon) area, kids who have asbos and getting away with hurting people. The local shops selling beer and wine to children as low as 9 years old- Booze Buster is the shop, yobs hanging around and riding motobikes on the paths.. Please check Seaham Bus station a no go on anynight, due to the amount of drugs and crime.

Llanrumney, Cardiff
Investigate Llanrumney and see how they intimidate people from going into shops such as countisbury avenue and burnham avenue. Its disgusting and someone needs to put a stop to it!

Chepstow
In May we returned home to find our front border row of dressed conifers decimated. The arson event was caused by two twelve year old youths who set fire to the trees just ten minutes after we left home at 7.20 pm (12 May) it was sad (but unrelated) that our 16 year old dog was put to sleep on the 15th May. Although we prayed that the conifers would recover, their cores were burned out and it was, sadly, decided to cut the row down. The police took statements but any witnesses (children) did not come forward (But who can blame them?).

Swansea
There is only one reason for the yobbish, unruly culture, that's ruining todays society and thats because there's no discipline. Their are no consequences for any unruly act. The kids know that you cannot touch them (Police,Teachers, etc) and also know, that they will get away and let off with almost any crime. Beat a pensioner to death 5-7years,out early on good behaviour, go into a Bank with a toy gun and get twenty five years plus. Let's fine them Fifty pounds, that will do it!!! wake up and smell he coffee!!(get a politictian who's been brought up on a council estate to have an input, not someone from public school who's never suffered the consequences of this way of life "HUG A HOODIE" lord help me!)in the last two years I've had my car vandalised, actually parked 20m in my drive, privet hedge set alight, my neigbours garage was broken into, steel door, so they smashed the roof, I caught them walking down the drive without a care in world. A friend had his car smashed in! to by someone high on drugs, he detained them for "three hours" before the police arrived and they asked to see his license!"THE KIDS HAVE NO FEAR, BECAUSE THEY HAVING NOTHING TO FEAR", sounds archaic, but what's wrong with a good old type army boot camp?by the why I'm 45 and 16 stone, no wilting flower,brought up on a rough council estate, with manners a degree and I was the product of a single parent, shouldn't I have been dysfunctional, and have the right to terrorise because of my "poor is me", find him something to do background?!

Swansea
I was born in the centre of Swansea,and I`m still living there.Swansea is going through a welcoming structural regeneration at present.The anti social behavour is wide spread in Swansea now.The flats where I am now living have been set on fire twice in the last 18 months , by very young yobos,and the police seem to have their hands tied ,with respect to controling these things and other things...With the advent of recent law changes , with regard to ,not being able to clip the kids behind the ear,and such like, have completely demorilised society and I suspect the Police also feel this.To sum up..it`s the government that are responsible for the yobo culture that is sweeping the Country,by these outrageous changes in the law.

Port Talbot
I have been tormented by one particular yob near to my home for over three years just because I would not let him near my dog he also teazed the dog something awfull with sticks iron bars stones cornered him when i was out walking swore at me called me a f*****g b**** amongest things I am a pensioner who is still tormented even today by younger bunch of yobs I dare not venture ou after dark dare not say anything because of reprisels as to what they would do I am 4 foot 10 inches tall and these yobs or some of them are a lot taller I have reported it to the Police but do we ever see much of them in this area.

Cardiff
Im from a cardiff suberb, and i find the city center quite plesent. there are a large police presence and a calm atmosphere. the suberbs however are falling apart. Streets after dark are full of youths damaging cars and drinking. and a slow police responce

Cardiff
I live in one of the nicer parts of Cardiff, at least I did up until a few years ago. This once middle-class, quite, peaceful neighbourhood has now started to have the problems that blight the rest of the country. In the last year, we have had drug dealers smash up the local kid's playground, preventing me from taking my little sister there. We've also had a large mob of around 100 teenagers walk on a drunken rampage through our streets, armed with metal crowbars and other large weapons. On this occasion anti-riot police were called but soon left when they realised what they were up against. The yobs were left to smash up cars, trash people's gardens, vandalise telephone boxes, and cause absolute destruction. It was like a situation straight out of hell. God help us all.

Conwy
I am originally from Conwy but now live in Perth in Western Australia, and spent most of my working life travelling around Britain as a carpenter. I remember Newport in the early 1970¿s when every shop seemed to be full, and how happy and friendly the people were. I also work in Newport after Thatcher¿s policy of putting British workers¿ out of a job. Thatcher could never understand, or care, that industrial towns¿ loose their community cohesion when large scale unemployment suddenly happens. I find it sad that such a friendly town has such problems. I visited Colwyn Bay in January 2000 and was shocked at the state of this once beautiful seaside resort, the friend I was visiting told me that the one time holiday flatlets¿ had been turned into bed-sitter accommodation for mostly recently released from prison drug users, and that since there is no large scale employment in Colwynbay they could live on the dole. If this is true it¿s a tragedy, and it¿s time the thugs feared the police and not the public fearing the thugs.

Deeside
I've lived in and around Deeside for most of my life and the area has always had a run down feel and a reputation for being a terrible place to live. However, I would have to say that with the exception of Friday / Saturday Night Drunkeness and ill mannered yobs which seem to be a problem everywhere, it is a really nice place to live. I can honestly say in the last 3 years I haven't heard of anyone I know being a victim of a Burgulary, Car Theft or Mugging. The Police even seem to be on the right track with the drug problems which reputationally the areas always had.

Newport
Newport is horrible.Drig dealers operating around the bus station and train station, brothels, horrifying groups of young men behaving threateningly. Its dirty, and smells of all sorts but the main aroma is like a sulphur smell. There has been stabbings and a friend of mine was held at knife point a couple of years ago by a lad of no more than 16.Duffryn (an area of Nepwort) is absolutely full of heroin addicts,and there is freely available crack cocaine around. Saturday nights it is like a zoo has been let loose on the streets of the "City" centre. I'm only 24 years old and like a wild night out but it is just ridiculous-very threatening atmosphere...especially if there is a football cup final in Cardiff.

Swansea
I've lived in Swansea for almost a year now in Mount Pleasant, an area with a lot of rented accommodation. I have left the front door unlocked and my car unlocked by mistake several times and have never had any bother with thieves. It's a very friendly neighbourhood and I know most of my neighbours, much more friendly and safer than the south of England where I was born and raised.

Cardiff
i have lived on my estate for 18 years without any real problems but the last 12 months have been dreadful with yobs and thugs hanging around the area causing mayhem my home and my car have been attacked numerous times also my family visiting have had their cars attacked my brothers car was stolen from outside my house and never recovered.i have been attacked verbally with the most disgusting language also threats to smash my windows one of my windows was fired at and smashed with an air rifle.the police dont seem to have much effect on whats happening a crime prevention officer told me the best thing to do is move house the asbo s that the courts dish out are a waste of time as it has now become "cool" to have an asbo and the yobs all brag if they have one.i am so depressed now living here that i have decided to take the advice the crime prevention officer gave me and sell up and go somewhere else.

Mumbles, Swansea
Mumbles is a delightful sea-side community in Swansea. The people are helpful and friendly and at no time have I ever felt threatened here. Swansea city centre is also generally fine, though the sheer number of people pouring out of clubs and bars at night, many the worse for drink, make certain areas quite intimidating.

Wrexham
I feel fairly safe in our little village but would not walk around the villages nearby in the dark! People have been mugged in daylight at the shops in the next village. The teenage thugs will be revelling in the publicity they are now getting for being feared - I think it will worsen the situation! It comes to something when an old lady is kept in the cells overnight for tackling one of them. (This was on tonight's news!) I fear for my grandchildren, whom I hope will be decent teenagers in years to come and I am terrified of becoming a senior citizen myself. This whole country is going to rack and ruin and it's time the government did something positive about it rather than being so wishy-washy.

Llandysul
If anything, this part of West Wales is more settled and suffering from less crime (never was very much) than 20 years ago. EU money continues to be attracted to improve the quality of the streets in the small towns round here. If there is any negative, it is that house prices have lifted far to high in the last four years making it impossible for first-time buyers to get into the housing market. There is still social housing available but it is at a premium.

Newport
Newport is a dreadful place! We have lived here for over five years and are in the process of getting out! There seems to be a complete lack of social and community responsibility. There is no pride in the city and where people live. It was recently reported that the Community Safety Wardens requested stab jackets! Where we live we have to put up with thuggish and intimidating youths and noisy younger children. We endure trespass and antisocial behaviour and when you speak to the parents they just have a go at you. Its a shame but we are looking to move away - there is no hope if parents support the right of their children to commit crime and make peoples lives uncomfortable.

Saundersfoot
A quiet lovely peaceful seaside town. A great place to raise a family.

Wales
Where I was living, in Wales, there was a house at the end of my street known to be a crack house. There used to be drug dealing at an old abandoned factory which the local council decided to demolish (ending the drug activity). There were gangs of children heading down to buy drugs. The drug dealers were reportedly always armed with pistols and a sub-machine gun. The local policeman (who lived around the corner) was reported to state that he didn't do anything about it because he "wanted a quiet life". I've since moved away but my parents still live there.

Magor/Undy
We enjoy a quiet well kept village, there are no anti-social issues any serious nature, this is reflected in the low police presence even on a Friday and Saturday evening. We have local sporting clubs like cricket and football to be enjoyed on the weekends and some marvellous walks taking in great views of the Severn estuary as well as the lower Usk Valley. I am happy to be bringing my child up here.

Colwyn Bay, North Wales
Colwyn Bay was once an idealistic place for a family holiday, Now it's unsafe to walk the streets at night, cluttered with Drunks and drug addicts and genrally a very un-welcoming area to bring up my children. The problem lies not with the town, but with the few "bad apples"who have recently moved into the area after hearing of its reputation of an easy drugs area. Please, Please help us...is this the future home of my 3 young innocent children? something must be done!

Cardiff
Generally speaking compared to some reports I've read on here Cardiff isn't too bad and like many other places I think it's a case of the minority ruining it for the rest of us. Where I live I am always alarmed at the number of children on the streets, even during the darker evenings; however their behaviour tends toward the boisterous rather than threatening. There is however an intermittent problem with young people riding un-registered trial bikes around the streets (including on footpaths and across grassland). In both these cases, I'm afraid I would have to ask the well worn question, 'where are the parents?' I work in a different part of the city (Canton) which is not also without its problems. The main street has several pubs along its length and several times in the last few months we have had to call the police out to remove drunk people (on occasion fighting each other) from the vicinity of our premises.

Cardiff
As obese person, the amount of abuse rained upon me in Wales has caught me quite by surprise. If I dare leave the house on any night after 9pm, but especially on Fridays and Saturdays, I have to endure groups of (usually drunk) people jeering, mocking, laughing and insulting me, while several times per year people will throw stuff (usually drinks) at me out of moving cars. The result of all this is that I simply do not dare to leave my home on Friday or Saturday nights, and try and limit myself on other evenings. Living in various parts of London for four years, I never had similar problems at all.

Return to story page