i was woken about 4am last night by a huge rabble of noise, commotion and adrenalin fueled shouting by what sounded like a huge number of youths. By the time i woke, realised it wasn’t a dream and got up to look, the sound was disappearing off into the distance and i didn’t think anything more of it. When i went out this morning however, the street round the corner was taped off and two policemen were standing in the street looking bored, i asked one of them what had happened and he said ‘oh just some kids with guns’
maybe i’m reading too much into this response, but the nonchalant nature of it does seem to say a lot about the attitude of police to crime in certain areas of london - the policy seems to be more about containment of crime to certain areas rather than the eradication of it. This same street was the street that the weapons of the three men who murdered Warren Gray were discarded as they fled from the scene , and it’s also just round the corner from where convicted rapist John McGrady who had a twenty year history of attacking & raping young women was sent to live by the authorities upon his last release from jail and where he took the life of 15 year old Rochelle Holnes by abducting her, strangling her and dismembering her body with a hacksaw and placing the parts in five bin bags scattered around the milford towers estate
The policeman didn’t ask if i’d seen anything or didn’t seem interested in what I told him about what i’d heard in the night, is this indicatative of just this one person or the borough’s wider attitude to crime & anti social behavior in ‘lost’ parts of london?
For years we’ve heard rhetoric from police & council about them taking some responsibility for sorting out the many problems around milford towers but all we’ve seen in reality is a policy of containment in action.
A few comments from local residents set the scene:-
One man, in his 50s, of Silvermere Road, said:They need to do something about that block - the East Block. They are mugging old ladies coming home from church. It used to be quiet but now it’s horrible.
A 37-year-old woman, of Doggett Road, said: There’s always something going on here.This place is getting worse and worse. The youngsters cause the problems here. If the Government doesn’t do something things are going to get much worse.”
An 18-year-old boy, of Nelgarde Road, said: “You see a lot of shady men hanging about. There’s a lot of stuff that goes down. Obviously there’s a lot of people doing stuff in that building that don’t live in that building. Of couse you see a lot of police but not like now, not since that girl died
[Rochelle’s mother, commenting after the latest murder] It’s like I’m reliving my nightmare all over again.I came here to make sure it wasn’t another child. I feel so sick to my stomach as it is reminding me of the sheer horror of my daughter’s death.I was told the police would clean up this estate. I can’t believe they have not put better security there. They should have police patrolling on the estate after my daughter.They didn’t expect another murder to happen. But I knew in my gut something was going to happen. It makes me feel so angry. I’m fuming with the law.”
[Rochelle’s mother on John McGrady] We question why we do not have the right to know about these dangerous people living among us, until they have committed such dreadful acts.
I lived and worked in Catford from the age of 2yrs until I was 46yrs. I no longer ’survive’ there but chose to move on and ‘live’ somewhere else. In previous years I’ve known children with a gun and live ammunition to be firing at passing cars. My own wife was attacked with a knife outside Milford Towers and robbed (the police at the time suggested moving away being the best course of action). I can recall one incident which both amused and frightened me. Youths at the top of Milford Tower were hurling concrete slabs onto people below who were coming out of the car park towards Holbeach Road. A slab that would have either killed my wife or I if it had hit us landed at our feet. Fearing some other unfourtuate soul would not be so lucky I rang the police. They did respond an hour or so later. However, without bothering to get out of his police car the lone police officer explained he could do nothing as he was on his own. When a chunk of concrete landed on the roof of the police car he accelerated off down the road never to be seen again. All that could be heard was the laughter of the yobs above… and you wonder why crime in Catford is as bad as it is?
I agree that the estate should be demolished. It is an eye sore and the level of crime is just ridiculous. How many more people will be killed before something is actually done? Please write to Jim Dowd MP and Steve Bullock calling on them to take action.
In time, the gangs will turn new housing estates into ghettos.
I lived and grew up in the area and use to playing in the car park and i would never allow my kids out to play in there. I have seen milford towers go down hill over the years . Ive seen dealers selling weed and seen it progress to crack . I belive the towers need to be knock down as policing , or cameras will never stop what goes on up there
That place is a disgrace I live next to Milford Towers I have been gang mugged in the surrounding roads and beaten absolutely black and blue yet they are still doing nothing about that hell hole probably won’t it’s not high enough priority as no one seemingly in the public spotlight has suffered at the hands of the mindless stupid idiots that cause trouble there
I work in Catford Shopping centre, I am afraid to work here now.
I am a postman in catford & sometimes i have to do milford towers, thats the only one i feel uncomfortable about doing, i know the blocks like the back of my hand but for an emergency service to go in there, they would be lost including the police so i dont even think the residents feel safe in there own home
A friend of mine was recently housed on that estate and trust me he can handle his own and he is scared everytime he leaves his house so can u imagine how vulnurable peolpe with families and elderly people feel
Steve Bullock!! I hope you take the time to read these comments. You should make it a priority of your administration to demolish Milford Towers and regenerate the centre of Catford. I feel disgusted by the lack of action from our politicians regarding this disgraceful estate
Lewisham is letting its people down, crime is rife, street muggings are becoming something to expect.Children are being kicked out of schools then left to wander the streets, kids are treated as lesser beings, families have broken down. fathers are absent, mothers are struggling to keep control. Single mums blamed for wrongs, when society creates a system thats better for the single person. Love is lacking in our society. Kids are being raised by drug addicted parents who show the kids no love, the kids get ignored at school no one picks up on their suffering. Some kids grow to believe they have no hope no prospects. There is lack of extended families and people that care in the community.
just some kids with guns
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