The brutal truth of life on the streets of a crime-ridden city was revealed as locals told of a grim reality where drug dealers run amok and police pass ‘every minute’.
The true extent of crime in the city of Bradford emerged as officials estimated organised crime and serious violence costs the West Yorkshire region £406million a year.
The huge figure was predicted to be the economic impact of crime in the city – which was named this year’s UK City of Culture.
When MailOnline visited Bradford, locals told of their fear while small businesses revealed how unrelenting crime levels were forcing them to the brink.
Garth Durkin, who has run Aloha Sunbeds on Grattan Road for nearly 10 years, told how his client list had plunged by a third with customers too scared of being accosted by beggars, drug addicts and prostitutes.
Mr Durkin, 65, said: ‘People have just had enough.
‘Business owners who were trying their best have just had enough. People are closing up because drugs and violence are rife.
‘The footfall has fallen through the floor because people are too fearful of being accosted or propositioned.
Bradford – the ‘crime capital’ of the UK. Locals told of how police can be seen passing ‘every minute’ in the crime-ridden district
Bradford was named the UK City of Culture this year
Images show how rundown and crime-ridden the streets of Bradford have become
‘The drug dealers are brazen as hell. The addicts queue up outside the solicitors waiting for their gear.
‘I’ll open the doors and we’ll have customers coming in and they’ll get yelled at for money. They get particularly nasty if you’ve not got change.
‘I’ve complained profusely about it but nothing is ever done.
‘At four o’clock when it’s dark and I’m on my own at work, I’m jittery as hell.
‘I’ve got cameras everywhere. I’ve got to put a light on to make sure that I know who’s coming in and who’s coming out.’
Mr Durkin, who is looking to move his business, told how a neighbouring shop has changed hands three times in two years after being constantly targeted by thieves.
He said the £406million figure seemed to be an ‘underestimate’.
He said: ‘I’d say that figure was too low. The drug problem in Bradford is rife and everything flows from that.
Garth Durkin, who has run Aloha Sunbeds on Grattan Road for nearly 10 years, told how his client list had plunged by a third with customers too scared of being accosted by beggars, drug addicts and prostitutes
Piles of litter and disposed alcohol bottles could be spotted around the city
Mr Durkin, who is looking to move his business, told of how a neighbouring shop has changed hands three times in two years after being constantly targeted by thieves
‘I’ve lived in Bradford my whole life yet when I’m on holiday I never tell anyone I’m from Bradford. Never.
‘How sad is that? When my son came out of university, the first thing he said to me was: ‘Dad, I’m leaving.’
‘I spoke to him this morning. He said ‘how’s Bradford?’ I said ‘what do you think?’
‘He said ‘the same s***hole’. That sums it up.
‘You can’t go out without fearing trouble. People think “there’s a chance that I might get caught up in something now.”
It comes among calls for increased policing in Bradford during the night by business groups, according to the Telegraph and Argus.
Tiffin Venue Management, which owns several pubs in the city, have called for West Yorkshire Police to increase patrolling during Friday and Saturday nights, as they stress it is ‘important the city is safe’.
Yet, despite clear fears for safety among both residents and businesses, it is understood Bradford may be awarded Purple Flag status soon – a flag which recognises a region’s commitment to creating a safe night-time destination.
In Bradford’s deprived Manningham suburb, locals told MailOnline how the area was blighted by drug dealing, gang violence and prostitution.
Its poverty-stricken streets are where Yorkshire Ripper Peter Sutcliffe prowled for victims more than four decades ago, and also wicked Stephen Griffiths, nicknamed the Crossbow Cannibal.
He murdered at least three sex workers between 2009 and 2010, and claimed to have butchered and eaten their body parts.
The area is in a state of disrepair, with fences trampled over, and streets filled with litter
Fahed Al-Husseini, who witnessed the killing of Kulsuma Akter, 27, while pushing her baby, spoke of crime in the area
Police were a regular sight, patrolling the city by car
More recently, it was where mum Kulsuma Akter, 27, was stabbed to death while pushing her baby.
The killing – allegedly by her husband Habibur Masum, 26 – was witnessed by shopkeeper Fahed Al-Husseini, 34.
He told Mail Online: ‘I heard her screaming. You never forget something like that.’
While Mr Al-Husseini said extreme violence was uncommon, he told how shoplifting was a major problem for corner shop businesses like his.
He said: ‘Every shop has a problem but the off-licenses have it worst.
‘There are a lot of homeless people and problems with drugs.
‘There used to be problems with gang violence but we don’t see that so much now.
‘Every minute you see a police car go past. Yet when I go to other cities I don’t see as many police.’
Along the road, a small grassy area was swamped with empty beer cars, vape pens, and takeaway boxes. Among the detritus was a used condom and soiled nappy.
Yards away, outside the Westgate bar, Bradfordian Mick Waterworth told how a prostitute had recently tried to solicit a friend aged 75 – and began rooting through his belongings when he rebuffed her advances.
Bradfordian Mick Waterworth told how a prostitute had recently tried to solicit a friend aged 75 – and began rooting through his belongings when he rebuffed her advances
The city is rife with both serious violence and organised crime as well as more petty offences such as shoplifting
The area is also full of run-down buildings and flats, with windows boarded up with cardboard
A report by Bradford Council showed that serious violence and organised crime was costing the city £406million a year
Mr Waterworth, 68, said: ‘It was just terrible – he’s a 75-year-old man.
‘She came up and saw him in the doorway so he put his bags down, offered him her services and when he refused, she started rifling through his stuff.
‘Every time I go out for a cigarette I get pestered by people trying to sell me stuff they’ve stolen from the shops. Razors, deodorants, meat – whatever they can get their hands on.
‘The next time you see them they’re walking down the street with a can in their hand.’
Mr Waterworth added: ‘Crime has got worse. A lot of it is petty crime like shoplifting.
‘I wouldn’t say there are no-go zones but you’ve got to know where you are and keep your wits about you.
‘The police are never here when you want them. You only see them when Bradford City are playing at home.’
In 2022, Bradford was dubbed the ‘most dangerous’ city in the Europe, according to an analysis of crime rates across the continent’s most populated conurbations.
While the statistics were rebuffed by police as not credible, officers are clamping down on serious organised crime.
Figures reveal that in the year to January 2025, there were 610 arrests, 298 stop searches, 381 out of court disposals, 717 charges, 2,172 vehicle seizures, 1,689 ‘intelligence submissions’ and 21 cannabis farms uncovered.
Another corner of Bradford that was sprayed with graffiti and littered with used cups and cans
People standing outside a former amusement arcade. There are plans to make it into a community centre
Many of the streets are run-down, with signs of vandalism as they are boarded up with makeshift materials
Officials have identified protecting women and girls as a key priority.
Women told Mail Online that they felt ‘too scared’ to go out at night in the city.
Pub worker Aimee Florence, 28, told how she witnessed a man chased by a gang and stabbed to death in an early hours attack.
She said: ‘A lot of people are too scared to stay out too late in case they accidentally get caught up in something.
‘Violent crime is happening too often and it’s gone on too long. It needs to stop.
‘I’ve been brought up around here. A lot of the older people tell me how vibrant Bradford used to be and now look at it.’
Another, who asked not to be named, reminisced about the city’s thriving nightlife in the 1980s, before adding: ‘Now you can’t go out because you don’t feel safe’.
Aimee Florence told how she witnessed a man chased by a gang and stabbed to death in an early hours attack
She says that people avoid going out in late hours of the night fearing that it is unsafe
A number of run-down shops with shutters covered in graffiti
Doorman Bob Mansfield, 56, said he refuses to allow his adult daughters, aged 21 and 27, into the city centre at night.
He said: ‘The area around the bus station is a no-go area after 6pm. My 21-year-old daughter was nearly assaulted there last week because she wouldn’t give a beggar £1.
‘There’s security staff but we need the police to come out and patrol it.
‘There are youths running amok on bikes, brazen drug dealing and beggars hassling people.
‘The police know about it but they don’t seem to be doing anything about it.
‘They probably don’t have the resources but crime and anti-social behaviour is just getting worse and worse.
‘I’ve told my daughters they can’t go into Bradford at night. If they want a drink, they can have one at home, because I know they will be safe at home.’
Doorman Bob Mansfield, 56, said he refuses to allow his adult daughters, aged 21 and 27, into the city centre at night
The city is understood to be one of the worst in the UK for its levels of crime
Fly-tipping is also a big issue in the town, with beds, sofas and other disused furniture thrown along the streets
Bram Khan, owner of BK Hardware in Bradford’s indoor market, said shoplifting had got worse over his 20 years in situ.
He said: ‘It’s just part and parcel of running a business in this day and age.
‘Before the Wilkos store closed, you’d see them just running out of the doors with stuff.
‘The security staff couldn’t catch them because it was too dangerous to run across the road.’
Bradford City Council said in a report: ‘Violence continues to have a huge impact on victims both physically and mentally and also adversely affects perpetrators too. It is often a symptom of other, deeper-rooted, issues.
‘Beyond the person, the economic costs are also significant, with the West Yorkshire Violence Reduction Partnership estimating the costs to be £406million a year in Bradford.’
MailOnline approached West Yorkshire Police for comment.
