I've been meaning to post in this thread for a few days now, not that I post anywhere much lately
but......
Where I live now, Weoley Castle, is purportedly rough-ish but I've never had much trouble here tbh, keep myself to myself & help the neighbours etc, but....
....as some will know I worked for some years as a debt collector/bailiff which pretty obviously took me into some rather shitty areas. I wasnt just paid to be after certain people, more to be in certain slums.
Before I go on I will state that anyone can get into money trouble & one thing I learned from it is dont be stereotypical, but if you want to hate me for it then so be it
I have touched on this a bit in the past mind you, & as I notice a lot of previous stuff in this thread is in Scotland I'll state now bailiffs arent allowed in Scotland, its all sheriffs & stuff up there. Pussys
One of the roughest places I've ever been was Heathtown in Wolverhampton, Chervil Rise in particular. Its effectively a concrete labyrinth thats runs about 4 storeys & its just an
absolute mess. In 5 years in the job I was effectively mugged on this estate 3 times myself
the first time was a snatched mobile (early 90's, brick type NEC with a tassle round my wrist) as I went up a stair case in shirtsleeves. Kid grabbed it from behind & I instinctively balled my fist & swung backwards & lamped him, but obviously the tassle came over my fist & the phone was free....he went flying backwards down about 5 or 6 steps & landed heavily, as did the phone, & I deciced promptly it wasnt worth it & just shrugged & let it go. I blame myself tbh, it was boiling hot in summer & the kid was wearing & full length coat & more to the point holding a wooden club with a nail sticking through it........I cant have been there long as I didnt notice him beforehand
So I wandered down to my van only to find it had been nicked
so I had to walk to the copshop. Where the duty sergeant, after I'd filled him in, asked "wheres the others ??"
"What others" I asked, "I was on my own".
"Fcuk" he says, "we dont go on there in less than 3's"
....worried me that did
Then there was Princes End in Tipton......'the lost city' it was called. I wish it was fcuking lost as I regretted ever finding the fcuking place.
Theres a really rough little shithole of an estate in the middle. 3 roads in a circle with an exit either end, Laburnum Road was one, I forget the others......anyway I went there one day to remove goods from a bloke. Mid afternoon it was, sun was blazing, loads of people on the street & lots of empty cans of out of date tennents Super
Knocked on the door & read this bloke the riot act but he was having none of it, an old pro. Anyway, the natives were getting a touch restless & they knew who we were...well, tbh, they'd all got sky dishes & the only other blokes in suits round there were either coppers or us
Anyway, cut a long story short he, in the end, had to take us in the house on my word I wouldnt seize anything, for our own safety as the locals turned our tranny over & set it on fire
The police turned up in a riot van ffs & had to rescue us from the house under shields whilst some of the kids were barbecuing the local stray cats on our Leyland Daf.
There we sat, in the back of a riot van that was surrounded by coppers trying to stop about 60 people getting to us, when this old sweat of a sarge in the front seat was smoking a roll up & trying to tell us shite jokes/////dicks in the wind, boys, dicks in the wind.
Then I had to ring the gaffer:
"Erm, boss, we need to catch a taxi back, we've got a bit of engine trouble"
"Waddya mean" ??
"Well its kinda overheated"
"Put some fcuking water in then !!"
"Erm.......I'm not quite sure you understand boss"
To be continued on an irregular basis