Your comments: BBC Panorama documentary on Blackburn's Shadsworth estate (From Lancashire Telegraph)
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Your comments: BBC Panorama documentary on Blackburn's Shadsworth estate
10:20am Wednesday 12th September 2012 in News
Last night's BBC Panorama documentary looked at problems of poverty, drug use and unemployment on Blackburn's Shadsworth estate.
The programme attracted a huge reaction from Lancashire Telegraph readers - some agreeing with its tone, others angry at the way the area was portrayed.
Here's a selection of the best comments posted on the Lancashire Telegraph website after the programme was aired:
- Still can afford mobile phones,game consoles,and 40" tvs despite saying we are struggling to buy food etc allan1957 Wow I vote Alwyn for the next supernanny! She doesn't endorse school but smokes weed & wants her kids to know about drugs...this is why shads being portrayed as it is!!!
Fire Fly
- Did i hear right ? Mother of 2 on £1100 a month on benefits . Beats working .
BritainfortheBritish
- Ah yes lets keep foaming at the mouth about "benefit scroungers", lets not look at the benefit scrounging bankers,who pocketed hundreds of billions in corporate welfare,lets not turn our anger on tax dodging billionaires and mega corporations who've dodged billions in tax.We should be screaming like hell about the wars, the funding of Syrian "rebels",government `corruption and cover ups,but we dont because we get angry/scared about thing like benefit scroungers. That's a bit 1990s isn't it? now that there's no hiding place for the scrounging bankers, the benefit scroungers have no carcass to hide behind. You can forget trying to side-track the discussion about garbage benefit swindlers on either side by bringing nonsense about Syria in to it. It's a non starter that those hiding behind their Giros wish would conceal their duplicities.
Good call
- And MP Jack Straw said: “Shadsworth is improving and I have visited far, far worse estates elsewhere in the country.” Is that the best you can do, Jack? Pathetic.
happycyclist
- The environment is not bad. Any problems stems from the selfish, low iq adults. The kids their are fine, it is the negative adults who are the problem.
Lancistan
- It was such a shame as well to see children being influenced by their 'parents' to lead the lives they are doing - where do social services come into this? Footage doesn't lie, and neither do first hand testaments. A real real shame.
impartial83
- Im thinking I may have to work more than my full time hours to pay more tax to keep the likes of Alwyn in the life she is accustomed to .... she cant possibly get up early to go to work!!
VicLou
- 'I wanted to be a firefighter but I ended up being an arsonist'....classic!!
Nelson J
- I watched it and it made me cry by how truthful it were.
Stuart Farquar
- The entire estate is a no go area these days its been like that for many years now, the estate has had this reputation for a long time. some 95% of people living in this gheto seem to like this stigma that comes with the place after all the council provided very good houses but the clientel in the homes have ruined the estate. People who have little education & also have a bad attitude towards anything thats out of there comfort zone simply creat hell for others. the mind set for a lot of people is to simply collect there handouts from the government with little hope of them making any effort to contribute to society like it or not people shall come out with every excuse in the book not to do the right thing. Its not only shad thats in this position look at Green Lane, Intack, Hill Hill Higher Croft & more.
Pommie Art
- I watched the programme tonight and although fully aware of the difficulties within that community feel sad that everyone within that community should have to put up with all of that unease. Total dismay and anger but little surprised as to how poorly the leaders of Blackburn with Darwen council have dealt with these problems over the years. It’s not as though they are strangers to these facts is it?The now happily retired Jack Straw and his politically favoured crew should do well to take a walk or even a taxi to see for themselves what little they have done for the people who live there. Those very well paid people can blame nobody but themselves and little wonder few of them actually live in Blackburn. They are a total disgrace!
district01
- I Live on the Shasworth estate lived here for 11 years and i found this documentary quite gloomy, There are a lot of decent people on the Shadsworth estate that do look after their homes and go to work.
Lynn_Blackburn
- So hang on I'm working 37.5 hours a week to EARN £1200 and Olwyn gets £1100 for sitting on her lazy posterior?! I'm expected to run a house from my wage yet, all her housing / decorating etc needs have already been met and DON'T even come out of the £1100?!
I get abuse telling me to go 'back to my own country' yet my taxes are paying for the lazy likes of Olwyn and the rest of the 16-30 year olds on that estate without a job! Unbelievable! Its a real shambles! Absolutely disgusting, it makes me sick!
Disgusted31
- Let us examine the facts contained in the broadcast:
1. Drugs: I dare say you'll find just as many small-time drug dealers operating in and around even the more affluent suburbs of Northern towns and cities. I trust the local police force (service?) will target those persons captured on film.
2. Anti-social behaviour: children being loud, gathering in groups, drinking, misbehaving. Hardly the stuff of nightmares nor isolated to sink estates, though I do worry for the future of some of those kids given their obvious social and communication problems.
3. Work-shy: we were presented with a 'single mother' who cannot or will not work (prescription drug dependency owing to and/or perpetuating her depression), a two-parent family struggling but powering through (the father was working), a third family of varying and forgettable qualities, and a handful of rather under-motivated young men. It is difficult to adequately judge an estate and its 2,000 strong community (too strong a word?) by such a small cross-section, but clearly those specific young men could and should be working, and (easy as it may be to state) it might benefit the lady's mental and physical health to take one of the jobs on offer, quit smoking and where possible reduce the amount of medication she was administering.
4. Cleanliness: boarded up shops, grafitti, rubbish in the streets/alleyways; rather nicely fits the template of the 'run down estate' doesn't it. However, take heed of the current economic 'climate' which has also affected many supposedly/relatively affluent areas across England and beyond. It should go without saying that one should respect one's environment, and particularly one's home. The prevalence of litter and poorly maintained gardens and driveways will certainly have an effect on the residents of any street/estate/town/city, and only serves to perpetuate or exacerbate any existing perceptions of despair. People should have some pride in their home and area, and should feel personal shame if they cannot be bothered to modify their own or their offspring's behaviour.
And so, the programme ended without fanfare or promise of improvement - merely a grim tale of human woe. We all had a chance to feel a bit sympathetic for an hour, and be thankful we don't live in or very near that or any similar estate. One thing is stark: a person working is a person contributing; a happier/healthier person (one hopes); a person with some aspirations; a person with hope. Once the hope has gone, the rest follows, and in its wake come the vices.
Having said all that, and in the mean spirit, knee-jerk barbaric sensationalism of 'today's society' - and with a heavy dose of irony - of the lesser residents of Shadsworth, I don't know whether to cry with sadness, or shoot the lot of 'em.
chillax
- Ask yourself some questions.
1 - would you like to live there?
2 - would you open a shop there?
3 - would you park your car there overnight?
fireonthemountain
- Such a shame to see. It ignored many positive aspects of the people who live there. I grew up there in the 70's. People had jobs then, and took pride in their community. We left in 78 as it was "getting rough".
egbutnobacon
- Typical BBC - Full of Lies!!!
roversjeff
- Twin Valley Homes should have ZERO TOLERANCE of drug misuse and antisocial behaviour in their properties and evict those responsible instead of giving those people multiple chances which they abuse(and they should be blacklisted once evicted so NOBODY wants to house them. That would solve the problems.
AnthonyUK
- It is a shame because I'm sure there are far more hard working and well behaved families on the estate who have to watch day after day the foolish Council teams and Police spending both a disproportionate amount of time and money dealing with these "troubled" families and yuffs!!!! Waste or time and money, spend it on the families who actually would benefit from the money and have already shown they can be part of Society!
stevieababy100
LT readers also took to Twitter to express their views on the documentary:
- Confirmed that our decision to leave Blackburn many years ago was the right one. Not a good advert for Blackburn, very sad.
@a_cairns
- Sadly that's today's society. Scroats brought up never seeing a parent ever work have no work ethic themselves, sad!!
@wrooty69
- same as any other estate in the country I know I've worked in worse places. Luton is the worse place ever @alodge28 did it really show the real Shadsworth? Or that of a small minority?
@ruthmetcalfe
If parents have no aspirations or motivations then no hope for the kids? No matter where u live parenting is the key!
@louJ_72
- Shadsworth looked ok despite BBCs attempts to edit it in a bad light. Paradise compared to moss side / wythenshawe etc.
@spezial_1
- How on earth a species that can send men to the moon also produce such foul mouthed vulgar idiots is beyond me.
@AyubPatel123
- my guess is its not totally representative but 'its not worth going to work because of benefits' is worrying and disgusting @catherinesprest Not the Blackburn i know not the Shad I know, southern based journalists grim up north angle.
@bickerblackburn
- Could be any deprived town in Britain. No mines or cotton mills, no industry, no work, thriving drug culture.
@markjepson62
- 1,000's of estates like this in UK not just Blackburn. need to break this cycle.
@ewoodeagle
- why did #panorama not look at STREETSuk project or people who campaigned hard to save the leisure centre?
@halcyondaisy
- my dad's been the milkman on shad for years. Bad families are not reflective of alot of the decent people on that estate @FGBen Shad is not all bad, sad negative portrayal. Will do nothing to raise aspirations and will stigmatise those from there.
@homewithwheels
- The estate is very deprived, but despite there being many problems, there are good things going on!
@nmclean77
- it's not all doom. Big Local board are local residents working to improve the area
@amanda_CBP
- I blame the parents for these troubled kids. They've no role models.
@lisaconnolly27
- It's very one-sided. Some good folk up there being painted with this brush. No doubt there ARE problems though.
@he6rt6gr6m
Finally, Blackburn Council leader Kate Hollern criticised the programme:
- Very biased and not a true picture of Shadsworth which has a great community spirit.
@cllrkate
Did you see the documentary? What did you think of it? Leave YOUR comments below.
Comments are closed on this article.
Comments (36)
10:33am Wed 12 Sep 12
jackmetickler says...
"very biased and not true...."
Well these are real people on this estate and judging from some of the comments above then it is not a totally biased picture.
Maybe if you and Jack 'the leader of the asian community" actually put some effort into solving the obvious problems, then Panorama would not be using Blackburn as an example of broken Britian.
Yes there are many good people in the area but it is a well known fact that a few problem families can turn any area/estate into a nightmare.
No smoke without fire and you cannot just ignore the smoke and hope that the problem will go away.
Mind you people do get what they vote for.
10:43am Wed 12 Sep 12
Moonman says...
The problems highlighted in this programme, drug-dealing/boredom
,ASB etc could be said about any estate, anywhere in the country and yet again the BBC have wasted the licence-payers money by putting on yet another programme that highlights issues but doesn't provide or suggest any solutions.
Hopefully the uproar that this programme generates will force the politicians to look long and hard at social policy and falling standards of education. Unless morals, attitudes and values are tackled in some of these problem families, nothing will change and we will be having the same debate in 20 years time.
10:47am Wed 12 Sep 12
alf-abett says...
Yes, it could be argued that it is a one sided view but the only people who know this for certain are the residents themselves so I will be interested to read their comments on here, yet what came across quite plainly was the fact that Shad does have some fat, lazy good for nothing lay abouts who see nothing wrong in using, selling, recommending drugs and pushers alike, disgraceful.The guy who works and tries to support his family is a credit and hopefully will soon be in possession of a decently paid job, good luck to him and his family, as for some of the others they should be kicked out and made to support themselves or start to pay back the community by doing work within the area and giving help to those that are in need.
10:54am Wed 12 Sep 12
shytalk says...
Chickens are coming home to roost when this sort of documentary is shown and the politicians only have themselves to blame when it shows how broken Britain really is.
11:02am Wed 12 Sep 12
angel2012 says...
11:04am Wed 12 Sep 12
Moonman says...
11:36am Wed 12 Sep 12
paulwhittaker says...
What's needed are decent jobs and hope.
11:51am Wed 12 Sep 12
deejayfatboy says...
12:02pm Wed 12 Sep 12
burner says...
12:33pm Wed 12 Sep 12
darwen_celeb says...
This documentary was quite sad really, it's a real shame for the kids that are exposed to what occurs on the estate and the retards that are entrusted to bring them up.
The guy who was in the film that works at Furnhurst School is a winner, I've seen him with his class in public and has them disciplined and under control, better behaved than other 'typical' schools - I think his name is 'IAN'... if only there were more people as capable as he - keep up the good work Ian.
12:34pm Wed 12 Sep 12
darwen_celeb says...
This documentary was quite sad really, it's a real shame for the kids that are exposed to what occurs on the estate and the retards that are entrusted to bring them up.
The guy who was in the film that works at Furnhurst School is a winner, I've seen him with his class in public and has them disciplined and under control, better behaved than other 'typical' schools - I think his name is 'IAN'... if only there were more people as capable as he - keep up the good work Ian.
12:40pm Wed 12 Sep 12
jack daniels says...
Love like that is priceless.
I hope his changes his mind and see the lad again.
1:11pm Wed 12 Sep 12
BritainfortheBritish says...
Not exactly signs of poverty but signs of a misuse of benefits money and shows they are actually getting far to much .
Time to make them take any job minimum wage or not .
1:18pm Wed 12 Sep 12
juanbbien says...
1:22pm Wed 12 Sep 12
Fire Fly says...
1:22pm Wed 12 Sep 12
Commenting says...
The interviewer asked if they had tried to get a job - who would employ such useless scroats.
It really is true that you cannot make a silk purse out of a sows arse and you cannot help such inadequate people as these.
Governments just throw more and more money in the form of benefits at the problem with no end solution.
Withdraw much of the finances and make them fend for themselves or make them work for their benefits.
We, the taxpayers of this country are sick and tired of those do-gooders and bleeding hearts who seek to defend the "poor and disadvantaged".
1:33pm Wed 12 Sep 12
mys says...
1:45pm Wed 12 Sep 12
jack daniels says...
2:01pm Wed 12 Sep 12
BritainfortheBritish says...
I really resent my taxes going towards these dossers and more so foreign dossers that are coming to our country to scrounge .
3:12pm Wed 12 Sep 12
Noiticer says...
And as for those 'foreign dossers'who are labelled as scroungers the vast majority are decent, hard working and law abiding people who are aspirational for themselves and their families. Remember, the EU allows UK citizens to freely live and work in other member states as many do
3:23pm Wed 12 Sep 12
enviro says...
4:12pm Wed 12 Sep 12
alf-abett says...
4:16pm Wed 12 Sep 12
alf-abett says...
4:25pm Wed 12 Sep 12
raggedtrouseredphilanthropist says...
4:44pm Wed 12 Sep 12
jimpy0 says...
5:15pm Wed 12 Sep 12
nanyymac says...
6:26pm Wed 12 Sep 12
Ryn525 says...
Alot of improvement needs to be forward and the comments by jack straw and kate holler are not helpful, a case of 'cover it up and we won't see it ' Someone needs to stand up and say this isn't good enough for this generation and take a stand, clear the drugs and the troublemakers. It's such a shame as most of the people there are the nicest people you'll ever meet.
7:07pm Wed 12 Sep 12
Reedley says...
8:25pm Wed 12 Sep 12
bigfella777 says...
8:37pm Wed 12 Sep 12
raggedtrouseredphilanthropist says...
Please explain, where did the other £500 come from?
9:40pm Wed 12 Sep 12
KeepUrDayJob says...
•I watched it and it made me cry by how truthful it were.
Chin Up it aint that bad :)
Stuart Farquar
•The entire estate is a no go area these days its been like that for many years now
If your not a resident of Shadsworth I can assure you that you can come and visit and walk where ever you want and you wont get harassed by anyone (Maybe the odd drug addict asking if you had a spare cigarette and / or 20p so he/she can use the phone box or like on the program a lad seeing someone new and selling them some fake drugs so he could make a quick £5 lol - Same as in every Town / City / Village)
Lynn_Blackburn
•So hang on I'm working 37.5 hours a week to EARN £1200 and Olwyn gets £1100 for sitting on her lazy posterior?! I'm expected to run a house from my wage yet, all her housing / decorating etc needs have already been met and DON'T even come out of the £1100?!
I get abuse telling me to go 'back to my own country' yet my taxes are paying for the lazy likes of Olwyn and the rest of the 16-30 year olds on that estate without a job! Unbelievable! Its a real shambles! Absolutely disgusting, it makes me sick!
Shadsworth is surrounded by industrial estate's - Factory Work!
Most residents but not all have alot of experience in Factory Work, Most foreigners coming to work / live in the UK are going for Factory Work jobs, This is resulting in hard to find work for English factory workers because most employers want employee's with experience! So for a Factory worker applying for jobs there aint no other options than Factory work or a cleaning job which the foreigners are targeting as well so some people will tell you to go back to your country!
chillax
•Ask yourself some questions.
1 - would you like to live there?
2 - would you open a shop there?
3 - would you park your car there overnight?
1. Live where? Next door to a family that does not care about people / life or respect anyone ect? Or do you mean Shadsworth? If you mean Shadsworth then yes I live here great community we all talk have a laugh not like the boring non sociable posh places!
2. Why not? As long as you can take some abuse sometimes off drunks ect (same in any town / city / village!)
3. Don't own a car :( but if you search car crime in Shadsworth I think you would be surprised!
Ryn525 says...
6:26pm Wed 12 Sep 12
Unfortunately the reputation of The Shad estate proceeds it. Having had friends and family living on it for over 30 years I can assure you it is that bad.
You have had family / friends live on the estate but you have not lived on the estae yourself so how can you comment that "it is really that bad" ?
Listen storys get told and there not all facts plus people like to add spice to these storys when there telling others so it sounds far worse than what it really was!
Reedley says...
7:07pm Wed 12 Sep 12
I thought the documentary was rather conservative, it's much worse if you were to go and have a look! Fortunately Blackburn is 65% Asian and these areas are standing up much better albeit they are painted in pick and yellow. I can't say the future for black burn is orange, far from it!”
Where exactly are you coming from to visit Blackburn? Buckingham Palace? Also where the hell have you been for the last 2 decades? Do you drive a car everywhere and don't actually see england as it is?
Also about the asian areas your clueless, where do you think these drugs in Shadsworth come from?
10:10pm Wed 12 Sep 12
Michael@ClitheroeSince58 says...
3:42am Thu 13 Sep 12
Ryn525 says...
10:13am Thu 13 Sep 12
shellybelle says...
I have 3 wonderful children who have morals and principles, and understand right from wrong. My 15yr old daughter is already showing strong work ethics and worked over summer. And has aspirations to do well in education and work. My stepson is a soldier who has lived with us on Shadsworth since he was 14, and he has not been held back, if anything he has grown into a wonderful person, as all my other children are. Not causing bother.
Shadsworth has a fantastic social inclusion programme which reaches out to all ages from Bingo, breakfast club, art club, creative club, fathers club, toddler group, majorettes &healthy living. Shadsworth residents have contributed enormously to society, there are nhs workers, county council workers,soldiers, teaching assistants, retail assistants, labourers and the list goes on.
Yes there is a handful of people on Shadsworth who spend their money/benefits on wine,cannabis and other drugs, which could be spent on carpets, wall paper, curtains,birthday and christmas presents, and clothes,etc etc however there are affluent estates such as Wilpshire, brockhall village, Langho where alcohol and drugs are a problem too. Living on Shadsworth or any other council does not give a person a predisposition to not having any high aspirations or problems with drugs and behaving inappropriate. It's about attitude and being positive. I would like to say a big thank you to all Shadsworth residents who have contributed and dedicated your lives to improving the lives of others through these difficult times, when government funding is being cut. Well Bloody done and keep up the hard work. Thank you from me and lots of other residents who appreciate their efforts, and stay positive don't let the negative people bring you down. Let's show everyone we are better than that. I've had positive feedback from clients who know people from Shadsworth who are disgusted at panoramas shock tv tactics. It's just a cheap trick to increase ratings and unfortunately it worked. Let's not give them the control to anger us. Let's move forward with are heads held high.
8:39pm Thu 13 Sep 12
crypt kicker says...
3:14am Fri 14 Sep 12
captain ian says...