It is early evening on Bradford’s notorious Holme Wood estate – and it feels like the frontline of a battlefield.
The streets echo with the whine of revving mopeds and the screech of teenage yobs hurling foul-mouthed threats.
Balaclava-clad gangs tear through the roads on scooters, pulling reckless wheelies and shouting abuse at terrified passers-by.
Others – barely in their teens with acne-pocked faces – loiter on corners with hammers in hand and pockets full of eggs, ready to smash car windows or pelt shops just for the thrill of it.
What was once a tight-knit, working-class community has become a lawless wasteland – where decent families say they’ve been left to fend for themselves against a new wave of ‘wannabe gangsters’.
Tracy Litherland, 42, has lived in Holme Wood for most of her life.
She told MailOnline: ‘The older lot are all right. It’s the younger ones – the wannabe gangsters – that are causing carnage. It’s like a new generation of troublemakers.
‘They think nothing of smashing up a taxi or hanging around shops intimidating people or causing trouble.
Children pose for the picture, with one standing on a bin and a bollard
One boy wielded a lump hammer, smashing it against the shutters of a local corner shop – before turning his attention to a nearby bin
Three balaclava-clad youths ride on a motorbike through the streets of Bradford
Washing machines and other electronics are dumped on the side of a road
‘They just roam around, causing chaos and there’s nothing really to stop them.
‘A lot of it comes down to parenting. People are having kids, who shouldn’t. They don’t know how to raise them or discipline them.’
She added: ‘When we were kids, we had stuff to do. We had a youth centre where for 20p, you could get in, play pool, football, do art – it kept us off the streets.
‘Now there’s nothing. No youth clubs, no support. The funding’s all been cut. The estate’s just been forgotten about – just left to rot. There’s no hope for a lot of the kids.
‘I’ve lived here 30 years. No one’s ever started on me, but I keep to myself. If you carry yourself right, you’re usually okay. But it’s intimidating for newcomers.’
When MailOnline visited the estate at dusk, the chaos was already in full swing.
Teenagers raced scooters across the estate, popping wheelies with their faces covered. One boy wielded a lump hammer, smashing it against the shutters of a local corner shop – before turning his attention to a nearby bin.
The streets are strewn with fly-tipped rubbish – scorched mattresses, broken fridges, car parts and smashed glass.
Tracy Litherland (pictured), 42, has lived in Holme Wood for most of her life
Balaclava-clad gangs tear through the roads on scooters, pulling reckless wheelies and shouting abuse at terrified passers-by on Bradford’s notorious Holme Wood estate
Jack Miles (pictured), 64, blamed successive governments for failing the youth
Burnt-out containers and graffitied shopfronts, near to where a 20-year-old man was stabbed in a suspected attempted murder, paint a bleak picture
Burnt-out containers and graffitied shopfronts, near to where a 20-year-old man was stabbed in a suspected attempted murder, paint a bleak picture.
Even CCTV hasn’t deterred the criminals.
In May, three cameras were installed by a housing association to crack down on antisocial behaviour. They didn’t even last a day before all three were ripped down.
One previous security camera, installed by the council, was cut down just 12 hours after being put up – after a thug used an angle grinder to bring the entire pole crashing into the road.
One lifelong resident, in his 60s, told MailOnline: ‘I’ve lived here all my life and it’s got so much worse.
‘You can’t have anything nice around here, it just disappears.’
His daughter, who grew up on the estate but was ‘thankful’ to have since moved away, added: ‘The good news is burglaries and car thefts have come down.
‘The bad news is you’re more likely to be stabbed or murdered.’
Yobs on bikes and e-bikes roam around the estate doing wheelies terrifying residents
Mattresses, broken chairs and other fly-tipping last abandoned in the middle of a field
A building which appears to have been left abandoned projects the idea that the estate has been left to rot
When MailOnline visited the area a smashed window was spotted with a seemingly broken chair left dumped on top of a building
Myles Duffy, 57, pictured, has lived in Holme Wood all his life. He said: ‘There’s always something going on’
Myles Duffy, 57, has lived in Holme Wood all his life. He said: ‘There’s always something going on.
‘It’s mainly based around the shops. It’s all the young ones – they’ve not grown up and there’s nowt for them.
‘I don’t really get bothered but you still hear about a lot of carry-on.
‘I feel a bit sorry for them because they’ve got nothing to do.
‘That’s when they turn to crime, or drugs, or whatever else. It’s not right, but that’s the reality.
‘Loads of young girls end up getting pregnant just so they can get a flat and some benefits. It’s not even about wanting a baby.
‘That’s a sad state of affairs.’
Mr Duffy, with his friend Jack Miles, 64, blamed successive governments for failing the youth.
A seemingly abandoned church with part of its roof destroyed
More fly-tipping has been dumped on the field on the West Yorkshire estate
He added: ‘Back in the day, we had community programmes – government schemes that gave you opportunities.
‘They paid you proper wages for 12-month work placements. If you didn’t get a job after that, you could go again.
‘That’s how I got my first job – working with a housing caretaker. It gave me a start.
‘But now, there’s nothing. You need that first step on the ladder. If you can’t even get that, how do you move forward?’
In February, West Yorkshire Police revealed the results of a two-year crackdown on Holme Wood: nearly 400 arrests, 73 cannabis farms shut down and 151 vehicles seized.
Eviction notices were handed to nearly 30 households linked to crime and antisocial behaviour.
Yet despite the blitz, many say little has changed on the ground.
Fly-tipping was seen across fields by homes adding to the feeling the area has been abandoned
A horse was left on a field in the Holme Wood estate in Bradford, West Yorkshire
Newcomer Sarah Dobson, 41, pictured, who moved to the estate last week from Scotland, admitted the area felt ‘intimidating’ — but insisted she wasn’t fazed
One woman, in her 50s, said on condition of anonymity: ”It’s not just antisocial – it’s terrifying.
‘You step outside and don’t know if you’ll get caught in some madness.
‘Kids running around with knives, smashing up shops, setting bins on fire – it’s like a jungle.
‘I don’t open my door after dark. You hear screaming, sirens, engines revving, and you just pray it’s not outside your house.’
Newcomer Sarah Dobson, 41, who moved to the estate last week from Scotland, admitted the area felt ‘intimidating’ — but insisted she wasn’t fazed.
‘First day I got here, I saw a couple chasing a lad down the street,’ she said.
‘People can find it intimidating, but I don’t.
‘I’m from somewhere rougher than this. I’m born and bred in Willenhall, Coventry – so this is nothing to me, mate.’
A West Yorkshire Police Spokesperson said: ‘We continue to work closely alongside our partner agencies to reduce crime and anti-social behaviour in Holme Wood and to increase trust and confidence in the community.
‘There have been significant positive results from the Operation Sweetgill team in the last 12 months. 166 people have been arrested and 129 of them have been dealt with positively.
‘We know crime and anti-social behaviour is a concern for residents and I hope these results show we are committed to tacking them.
‘We will continue to work tirelessly with our partners to tackle the problem and make Holme Wood a safer place to live.’
