THUGS smashing up cars and attacking delivery drivers have left residents on one Manchester street scared to leave their homes.
Rowdy teens also party late into the night and leave vomit all over the pavements for families to wake up to the next morning.
Locals on Cicero Street in Moston say the area is so blighted by crime, anti-social behaviour and vandalism that they are constantly looking over their shoulders.
Mum-of-two Fatma Faris, 39, who has lived in the area for five years, said: "I feel I have to be careful and vigilant a lot of the time.
"Some of the kids who hang around can become a drunk and rowdy and smash glass on the ground – there’s a lot of unpleasant behaviour.
"Car windows get smashed. Sometimes it’s just vandalism, other times they steal stuff that’s inside.
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"Someone drove past once and threw an egg at me from a car widow.
"Another time, someone shouted ‘God is Great’ at me in Arabic because I was wearing a hijab – I think they wanted to irritate me."
Another woman, who did not wish to be named, said she closes her front door each night and "hopes" to avoid trouble.
"We get a lot of cars and motorbikes whizzing up down the road nearby," she said.
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"They seem to use it like a race track.
"Gangs of kids can also be a problem but we just try to stay away from it by keeping ourselves to ourselves.
"We just shut our front door and hope for the best."
Fellow resident Mary Folarin is also plagued by late-night noise from drunken teenagers who vomit on the pavement, and has had her car vandalised.
The 46-year-old said: "When I woke up the other day, there was a lot of sick in the street. It was pretty unpleasant.
"There’s always kids messing around and that kind of thing.
"They gather from 5pm to 9pm, or sometimes until 10pm or later, and make a lot of noise.
"They throw stones around and I’ve had my car damaged."
'IT'S A BAD AREA'
On top of the anti-social behaviour and vandalism, there have also been several attacks on the terraced street.
In 2018, a gang of youths ambushed a Just Eat courier in broad daylight as he delivered a takeaway.
The man was punched and kicked before having his bike and phone stolen, leaving him "totally shaken up".
Other delivery drivers now fear making drops in the area.
One, who was dropping a parcel off this week, said: "I’ve been told to watch out if I come here. People have said it’s bad area."
Jodie Gregory, 37, who lives nearby, said it attracts young people who like to "hang around" and cause issues for the cops.
She said: "The police must know about the problems in the area.
"It’s not that bad, but it can cause problems.
"My son Mason, 18, ended up being held by the police for four hours after visiting a local shop.
"An undercover officer came round to the house but it was a case a mistaken identity and they were actually looking for someone else.
"It was awful for Mason but he got over it."
CRIME IN THE MOSTON AND NEW MOSTON AREA
Cicero Street sits in the Moston and West Moston area of Greater Manchester which has been plagued by crime since records in 2010.
In June 2019 alone, the latest data available, there were 133 reported incidents.
The most common were violent offences (38), vehicle crimes (16), publicorder (18) and anti-social behaviour (33).
Moston hit its peak of criminal reports in December 2017 when there were 162, of which 50 were violent.
Despite complaints by many residents, some say life on the street is nowhere near as bad as it used to be.
Hashmat Mohmmadzai, owner of the B&A Corner shop, says the business had changed hands many times due to trouble before he took over six months ago, but he has so far been lucky.
"The people who had the shop before me did have a lot of problems," he said.
"Kids would mess around and steal things and there was a lot of anti-social behaviour.
"But so far I’ve not had any problems. I just try to keep the kids in hand.
"I don’t disrespect them and just treat them they way they need to be treated.
"I have a lot of customers who come in and complain about anti-social behaviour but it used to be a lot worse than it is now."
Others claim the area's issues have been "exaggerated" and it has become a much better place to leave in the last few years.
One elderly lady, who’s lived there for more than 30 years, said: "It’s no worse than anywhere is.
"The streets are quiet and the kids you see out will be playing.
"I think some people exaggerate how bad it is."
Another resident – who only gave his name as Aaron – said he’d felt anxious about moving to the area but been pleasantly surprised since arriving in 2019.
"When I moved here, people told me it was really bad, but there are a lot of families on the road now," he said.
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"We’ve all got to know each other, so there’s a real sense of community.
"Most of the people who caused trouble have been arrested or kicked out of their homes."
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