We live in Britain's grimmest village... even prisoners have it better: Locals ... trends now
A town nestled in the heart of South Staffordshire has garnered an unwelcome reputation as the 'grimmest' village in the UK among its fed-up residents.
Frustrated locals in the village of Featherstone have hit out at the crumbling state of their community, which is covered in rubbish and dog faeces and is overrun with drug dealers.
Shocking pictures and reports from the town's community depict a scene of decay, neglect and antisocial behaviour - with battered buildings dotting the landscape and charred bus stop shelters standing as grim reminders of rampant crime.
Featherstone is surrounded by three jails - HMP Brinsford, HMP Featherstone and HMP Oakwood - but residents say the inmates are the lucky ones as the situation outside the prison walls reaches a tipping point.
Locals have even expressed fear about venturing outside after dark, as they claim alcoholics and drug users regularly collapse in the streets, leaving many feeling unsafe in their own community.
A town nestled in the heart of South Staffordshire has garnered an unwelcome reputation as the 'grimmest' village in the UK among its fed-up residents
Frustrated locals in the village of Featherstone have hit out at the crumbling state of their community, which is covered in rubbish and dog faeces and is overrun with drug dealers
Shocking pictures and reports from the town's community depict a scene of decay, neglect and antisocial behaviour
The village's historic and once-popular pub, the Red, White and Blue, has been closed down and remains bordered up with smashed windows and surrounded by security fences.
Abandoned furniture and rubbish line the pavements and fields across the town and blows into gardens, while exposed, unoccupied houses are left to crumble.
One derelict semi-detached house on Cannock Road appears to have been sawed in half through the upstairs bedroom at the mercy of the weather.
A bus shelter that had been recently built was torched by yobs, while residents complain of increasing numbers of potholes appearing in the roads.
Life-long resident Dean Proffitt, 62, said: 'I often say that this would be a nice place to live if it wasn't for the drunks and the s***k heads. They are everywhere and it's upsetting to see.
'I've lived here on and off for years and it’s certainly got worse. There's rubbish everywhere and people spewing up everywhere. There's no point telling the police because they won’t do anything about it.'
Rachel Canning, 51, blames the council for failing to keep the village clean, saying: 'It doesn't look as if the council come out enough to cut the grassed areas anymore, clean up the litter or empty the dog mess bins.'
She continued: 'The dog bins are full up and there is dog poo all over the village.
Resident Dean Proffitt (pictured), 62, said: 'I often say that this would be a nice place to live if it wasn't for the drunks and the s***k heads. They are everywhere and it's upsetting to see'
Featherstone is surrounded by three jails - but residents say the inmates are the lucky ones as the situation outside the prison walls
