Litter in Sheffield: Lansdowne Estate residents in Sharrow claim they are 'treated like second class citizens'

Mark Johnson, who lives on Lansdowne Estate in Sharrow, said the community has had to 'take matters into their own hands' as litter has become a familiar sight since last year.

Some of the residents would clean the area and its surroundings every week, sometimes on a daily basis, just to keep the area in its best state.

He said: "The council's just neglected our area completely and it's been going on since the last eight, nine months now.

"The place itself has been left looking shambolic, it's diabolical. They (the council) used to come around and clean it weekly, sometimes every day, but now it's just unbelievable and it’s got to a point where we need to take things into our hands and do it ourselves.

"I don't owe the council anything, I don't owe them any rent, but we are left feeling we are second class citizens and it's not nice."

Mr Johnson said he has made complaints to the council 'far too many times' and every time he was told it would be sorted.

"I made a complaint recently and they have done absolutely nothing,” he said.

‘You can’t blame the pandemic all the time’

Mr Johnson, who has been living in the flat for the past 11 years, said the situation got worse two years ago, when Covid hit.

"But you can't blame the pandemic all the time. It's absolutely ridiculous and it's becoming a cliche to blame Covid. There's no excuse," he said.

Rats have also begun to infest the area, he claims, after some people fed pigeons on the window ledge, causing the food to fall onto the grass.

"Some of these people in the area, they have been living in the property but they are not fit to live on their own,” he said.

"They have got some serious problems and the council needs to step up and treat these people better.

"There's no sense of community anymore. There used to be but not anymore because the council has not done their part."

Sheffield City Council has been contacted for comment.

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