Inside Britain’s ‘worst tower block’ as terrified families face poo-smeared stairs, heroin dealers and armed muggings
The brutal truth of life in Britain’s worst tower block was today laid bare by families faced with the grim reality of brazen drug taking, armed muggings and urine-soaked stairwells.
Squalid Pitmeadow House in Birmingham has been besieged by anti-social behaviour - including excrement being smeared on stairs and prostitutes knocking on doors to offer sex.
Children are told to hold their breath as they enter smoke-filled lifts strewn with rubbish bags and spit.
Fed-up tenants today revealed how windows in the 1960s concrete block are smashed “for fun” while human spit often covers the buttons in the lift.
The misery is such that the local council has been forced to put up signs telling residents not to spit, smoke in lifts or defecate in corridors.
Taxi driver Shahid Sultan, 45, moved to 13-storey Pitmeadow House seven years ago to raise his kids, seven and 11.
On the door of his two-bed flat is a sign imploring people not to smoke.
He said: “This is the worst place we have ever lived. We desperately want to get out.
“People dump their rubbish in the stairwells and the lifts are constantly covered in alcohol and piss.
“There is the constant smell of cannabis in the air. People smoke outside my door all the time and you can smell the fumes in my kids’ bedroom.
“My children are scared to live here. They say it all the time. They have nightmares that we are going to be broken into. They can’t sleep when they hear all the banging going on.
Mr Sultan has desperately tried to move his family after being mugged at knifepoint on a stairwell two years ago by two masked men.
His attackers fled with his wallet after putting the blade to his neck.
He said: “It was terrifying. There were two of them with their faces covered. One held me and the other put the knife to my throat. They told me to hand over all my money.
“It’s terrifying to think that I could be living in the same block as these people.
“You don’t go out at night because you can’t stop the gangs. There are six or seven of them loitering around, doing drugs and causing misery.
“Most of the security cameras don’t work so they can get away with it. We don’t have any protection.
We have had dirty nappies, chairs on the stairs. There is normally rubbish everywhere, all in the lift too
Resident Sonia Jackson
“People here are scared and they don’t know where to turn. It’s not a safe place for a young family to be.”
Sonia Jackson was homeless and facing life on the streets with her son before the council found them a flat there.
She said: "When I mentioned where I was moving, they said it was the worst one on the estate. We always joke once you're in, you're not getting out.
"We have had dirty nappies, chairs on the stairs. There is normally rubbish everywhere, all in the lift too.
"The caretakers come once or twice a day, but they shouldn't have to."
She went on "This is where all the kids come to smoke when it's raining.
"It's when people start smashing windows. Last year all these windows were put through. They smashed all the lights too, it was petrifying.
"My son was so scared, it was awful, especially when you hear all the bangs and everything.
"We have had all sorts. My brother came and visited me and was mortified to find faeces on the stairs."
The families living in the tower have found their own ways of coping with the problems, which they say range from fighting and drugs to flytipping and vandalism.
Along with council notices urging residents not to spit, the noticeboard featured a scathing letter from another resident - who branded their own block as a "f*** place" full of "f***** tramps".
It has since been taken down but it read: "This f*** place is a joke.
'F***ING TRAMPS'
"Rubbish either on landings or in the lifts or on the stairs.
"Ain't you f***** tramps got no general hygiene. Sort ya f***** s*** out man."
The noticeboard in the tower block foyer urges residents not to spit. Last month a letter was placed next to it by a resident who branded the block as a "f***ing place" full of "f***** tramps".
It read: "Ain't you f***ing tramps got no general hygiene. Sort ya f***ing s*** out man."
Derrick Thompson, 45, has lived on the top floor of the 50-apartment tower since 1998 with his disabled wife, Angela, 48.
Their £450-a-month home is plagued with damp, and a rotted wooden beam on their balcony is a strong gale from plummeting 30ft to the ground.
They are among a number of tenants looking to take legal action against the council over the squalid conditions.
Angela, 48, said: “You don’t want to invite your friends or family over because of the state of the place. There’s always urine and poo in the lift. I don’t know if it was human or dog - it’s disgusting.
“It’s got to the point where we can’t live here anymore. We don’t go out in the evenings because it’s too unsafe.”
The couple installed a security camera after being targeted in a break-in while they were at home.
Mr Thompson, who acts as his wife’s carer, said: “You’ve got to have a thick skin to live here. It can be a pretty lawless place. You never who you’re going to get in the lift with.
“It used to be just adults living here but now they’re housing young families.
'IT MAKES ME FEEL SICK'
"There are a couple next door with a newborn - it’s not a safe place for kids. It makes me feel sick.
“Nobody should have to live in these conditions in this day and age.”
Residents are not only plagued by misery outside their flats - many are living in squalor inside and accuse the council are not taking repairs seriously.
Polish national Marta Kaliwada, 38, lives with her partner, son and two daughters in a small two-bed flat.
Brown liquid has trickled down the walls of her tiny kitchen for the last three months.
She said: “The council hasn’t done anything about it. It’s disgusting. There is mould and damp everywhere.
“People are afraid to live here. If you go downstairs you don’t know what you’ll find. In the evening it’s mayhem. There are teenagers roaming around doing what they want. There’s nothing to stop them.
“They are doing drugs openly. If you go to the shops they will follow you and try and make you buy them cigarettes.
“We have asked to move but we haven’t had an answer. We’ve been on a waiting list for a year. We really want to move out. Anywhere would be better than this.”
A spokesperson for the council said: "The Housing Service is working in partnership with West Midland Police to tackle issues in Pitmeadow House.
“Local residents have reported issues in regards to Anti-Social Behaviour (Spitting, Smoking drugs, vandalism, Rubbish left out on landings and stairwells).
MOST READ IN NEWS
"The local housing team is carrying out joint visits with Police in the block on a regular basis following up any complaints we receive.
“Our caretaking staff work tirelessly to ensure the residents safety by removing all rubbish throughout on a daily basis, as many times as needed.
"There is also an out of hours service should the tenants see any emergency cleaning issues. The local housing team also distributes newsletters if there is a particular problem that residents can assist with.”
