Disgust as human waste found on grass verges on Sheffield streets as reports of anti-social behaviour rise
Residents in an area plagued by anti-social behaviour are now having to warn their kids not to run on the grass after discovering piles of human waste.
Anti-social behaviour is nothing new for the residents of S11, as for months they’ve seen gangs of masked vandals prowling the streets on electric bikes, they claim.
It is alleged blow torches have been used on people’s doors in an attempt to break the locks, before robbing homes and cars.
And residents claim as behaviour has become more brazen, people are now reporting robberies taking place in broad daylight, with one woman claiming a group attempted to steal a bike from her campervan while it was parked in a nearby supermarket.
Yet recent incidents have proven undoubtedly stranger, as residents have woken up to find piles of human faeces at the side of roads.
“There’s piles and piles of the stuff wrapped in kitchen roll - dogs don’t carry toilet paper,” Charlotte Richardson, who lives on Carter Knowle Road, told The Star.
“When I first saw it I looked and thought ‘is this what I think it is?’.
“I went out the other day and quite a few piles had appeared overnight.
“We all rang the council and environmental health last week - no one’s been out to clear it up.
“One of our older residents has now had to go out to clean it.”
Rumours regarding the situation have spread, with many suggesting the problem is being caused by delivery drivers working late shifts.
But for Charlotte and her neighbours the main concern is bringing the matter to a close - especially as more children than ever are living in the area following the opening of Mercia School in 2018.
“The council should be out to clear it up,” she added.
“It’s disgusting - this has been hard for the kids and the residents.
“And it’s all a part of other issues too like rising crime rates - recently someone tried to break into one of our neighbour’s houses.
“I don’t want to be harsh to the police, they’ve been brilliant - they were here really quickly and went out searching the area.
“But I mean what is happening? “Parents are now telling their kids not to run on the grass verges and watch where they step because it’s such a big problem.
“People are utterly fed up - they’ve worked hard to get a nice house next to a nice school and they’re sick of this.”
Councillor Peter Gilbert, of the Ecclesall Ward, said: “It's good that residents are coming together to call for a safer and more secure community.
“According to the police, who I liaise with regularly, they had seen a slight increase in crime in our area in February and have been working hard to tackle it.
“The figures are now back below average - they have made some arrests and have been targeting people using e-bikes to commit crime.
“We still live in one of the safest areas in the UK, but that doesn't help anyone who has found themselves a victim.
“We need to look after each other, and report suspicious behaviours to the police.
“I love this area and I want to support our community to be safer
“Ecclesall Greens are organising a drop in session for residents and our Neighbourhood Policing Team (NPT) will attend to offer crime prevention advice and resources - I welcome people to get in touch.”
Last weekend, the South West neighbourhood policing team carried out a dedicated operation to tackle residential burglaries and vehicle crime in the Ecclesall, Beauchief and Greenhill areas in which they checked a total of 195 vehicles.
The Star reached out to Sheffield City Council, who said they were aware of the problems and along with partners will be investigating matters.
They added that the clean-up of human waste such as this is handled under the Streets Ahead program, and can be reported on 0114 273 4567.
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