'There's always someone off their head': The suburb where people don't feel safe in broad daylight

People living in a South Manchester suburb say they no longer feel safe walking in the area because of 'intimidating' people drinking in the streets. Residents' groups in Fallowfield say the problem has got worse since the pandemic, when some hotels were turned into homeless accommodation.

They warned councillors that it would be 'disastrous' if a petrol station located near two of these hotels was allowed to sell alcohol. Nevertheless, Manchester council gave the Shell garage on Wilmslow Road an alcohol licence last week.

Representatives of the Motor Fuel Group (MFG) which runs the garage, said the type of cheap alcohol that would attract 'problem drinkers' will not be sold. However, residents' groups who objected to the application said the prospect of having another off licence in this location fills them with 'absolute horror'.

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Speaking on behalf of the Fallowfield Community Guardians at a town hall hearing, Sue Hare said street drinkers often gather by the garage and the nearby bus shelters, making it 'really, really intimidating to catch a bus'. Cans and bottles are scattered around, she added, with broken glass 'everywhere'.

One elderly man in his eighties who lives nearby had street drinkers sitting on his wall, throwing cans into his garden and urinating in it, she told councillors. And local litter pickers feel 'vulnerable' because they find 'all sorts of horrible things' in the streets, including knives, broken glass and condoms, she added.

She said: "I brought a family up in Fallowfield. My kids now say 'don't walk down that road , mum, because there's always someone off their head'. We feel unsafe walking in the streets in the daytime