The 'unsafe road' that MP claims even police fear

An MP has claimed that police officers will not patrol a road in Greater Manchester by themselves because they do not feel safe.

In recent years Baguley Crescent, between Prestwich and Middleton, has been blighted by fly-tipping, drug dealing, flooding, squatting, several fires in an abandoned block of flats and an attempted murder.

Christian Wakeford, the Labour MP for Bury South, said: "The postie is terrified and the police wont go down unless they're in multiple numbers because of their own safety."

A spokesperson for Greater Manchester Police (GMP) said: "Work is ongoing to make the area a better place for all residents."

Wakeford said anti-social behaviour was rife and local agencies were trying to take action against some tenants who were making their "neighbours' lives hell".

GMP said there had been 14 reports of crime on Baguley Crescent in the past 12 months but said it understood "people do not feel confident in reporting incidents to us".

Francesca Estasy, 70, who bought her two-bedroom flat on the road in 1992, said: "Its just been appalling for the last 10 years and now the Crescent is notorious for fly-tipping, arson, stabbings and drugs.

"Anything gets dumped here from fridge freezers and televisions to prams and mattresses so its like I'm living in the Bermuda Triangle, except on land."

A man was jailed for attempted murder after what police described as a "terrifying assault" with an axe inside a caravan on Baguley Crescent in January 2024.

There have also been multiple fires on the road, including one in 2023 which led to an apartment block being condemned by Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service (GMFRS).

Bury Council described the fire as an arson attack and Electricity North West later disconnected the power following a safety inspection but despite the building being declared unsafe, some people have been squatting inside.

In May 2025, a fire in a different apartment block on Baguley Crescent resulted in a fatality and GMFRS is looking at what can be done to reduce the likelihood of further incidents.

The apartment blocks on Baguley Crescent contain a large number of privately rented properties and there is a high turnover of tenants who claim benefits.

Residents told the BBC that some of the buildings had been neglected because property management companies were never set up when the flats were built more than 50 years ago.

David Adams, 76, who owns more than 20 properties on Baguley Crescent, said: "There doesn't seen to be any effective management on the flats, so its every man for himself and the communal areas of the flats are just neglected.

"The bins are not being emptied often enough, so its like the road has been abandoned and no-one cares."

In February, a burst water main caused a flood outside a block of flats on Heywood Court, off Baguley Crescent, but the pipe was not fixed for more than five weeks due to a disagreement over who was responsible for repairing it.

The water company United Utilities said the leak was on private property and was therefore the responsibility of the property management company to repair.

Barbara Bushell, who owns her flat on Heywood Court, said: "It was just a little trickle at first but it became a flood and I just close my blinds because its so distressing."

In a statement, United Utilities said: "Wherever possible, we try to help in the interests of saving water and we engaged with the property management company to resolve the issue as quickly as possible."

The property management company Dempsters said the repair could not safely be carried out while the water supply remained live.

In a statement, the firm said: "We contacted United Utilities more than 20 times requesting assistance to isolate the supply and we fully recognise the distress this situation has caused residents."

Previously, there were two sets of derelict garages on Baguley Crescent, where the roofs were collapsing and the metal doors had been ripped off by vandals.

Most of the garages have been demolished over the last two years but three of them remain standing because Bury Council has not obtained permission to bulldoze the buildings from the owners.

Councillor Alan Quinn, cabinet member for the environment at Bury Council, said: "We've taken down most of the garages because they were infested with rats.

"We feel awful for the residents of Baguley Crescent so we've shifted tonnes of rubbish from down there and its costing Bury Council a lot of money."

Andy Burnham, the Mayor of Greater Manchester, said the situation in Baguley Crescent was "complex" and made more difficult by the fact the council did not own the derelict flats.

"No-one should feel afraid in the street where they live," he said.

"Empty and derelict buildings are a blight on our communities, and councils and Mayors need greater powers to deal with absentee landlords, especially when properties are unsafe."

He welcomed an upcoming round-table event convened by Wakeford to address the situation and promised different agencies would work together for "decisive action".

The BBC attempted to contact the landowner which owns the freehold on some of the apartment blocks on Baguley Crescent but received no response.