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A sickening explosion of violence - which ended with a friendly, family dog lying dead in the street - left residents in a troubled corner of Toxteth boiling with anger.

But as the dust settled and immediate fury cooled, an Echo investigation has exposed a complex picture of friction between cultures living side-by-side.

In a working-class, traditionally ethnically-diverse area, large waves of immigration from Roma communities across Eastern Europe have increased the pressure on cash-strapped local authorities.

Many families now living in the streets off the top of Smithdown Road, by its junction with Lodge Lane, have fled persecution and discrimination in their native countries.

And experts say they are used to recoiling from authority out of fear and distrust.

Those working close with the Roma community said they have been discriminated against when applying for jobs and have limited access to health services.

There is also anger directed at private landlords with allegations the houses are being sub-let.

Police, council officers and politicians acknowledge “tensions” in the area and say work is ongoing to address the alienation of the Roma community and the problems making residents' lives a misery.

(Image: Andy Teebay/Liverpool Echo)

Noise, violence, rubbish, roaming children and petty theft

The Echo was told:

Residents are unable to sleep due to noisy groups of men, women and children gathered in the streets until the early hours

Tensions have boiled over into violence, with reports of intimidation and aggression

Residents report issues with regular petty thefts – even claiming a letter-box and doorbell were stolen from the front of a house

Rubbish and unwanted furniture repeatedly being dumped in the street outside homes

Children, as young as three and apparently without adult supervision, roaming busy roads both in the daytime and at night

In response to concerns raised by the Echo Merseyside Police said: "We are aware of specific tensions within this area and we work with a lot of agencies to reduce crime and anti-social behaviour including Liverpool Community Safety Team, Landlord Licensing, Environmental Health, education and street services.

"Through the summer months of May, June and July, we provided a full partnership week, liaising with all residents, and provided a mobile police station in the area for a different day, for seven weeks.

"Each resident was posted a community questionnaire by the agencies with a view to identifying and addressing any complaints.

"We will continue to work with these partners to address any tensions within the community.

"I would also ask that any residents that wish to report crime can contact us via @MerPolCC or by calling 101, or anonymously on @CrimestoppersUK."

Death of a family pet

(Image: Handout)

When Cristian Dutu first looked out of his window at a noisy gathering of drunken men, he had no idea of the chain reaction that would lead to his beloved dog lying dead in the street.

As day became evening on Saturday, April 21 this year, his mum, Mihaela Filip, finally asked the group to stop damaging cars parked near their home in Wendell Street.

But Mr Dutu, a 27-year-old warehouse worker, was confronted with a nightmarish situation as furious, heavily-drunk young men climbed onto a wall to attack him and his mother.

Both Mr Dutu and Ms Filip suffered slash wounds. But while their physical injuries will heal, it will be harder to forget the sight of bulldog-cross Hindo being launched from their balcony as she tried to get between the attackers and her owners.

Six arrests were made that evening and three men remain under investigation.

(Image: Cristian Dutu)

The incident has left Mr Dutu, originally from Romania, feeling deeply unsettled in the home he has built in the city.

Mr Dutu describes incidents of anti-social behaviour, vandalism and fly-tipping taking place on almost a daily basis.

He said: “Every day something is happening. When I moved onto this street almost seven years ago, I liked it. There was a beautiful community all congregating with each other and living in peace. There were students, people seemed to be happy.”

But Mr Dutu said he has seen tensions rise and his neighbours move out since immigration from poorer areas of the European Union rapidly changed the demographics of the area.

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“Next-door neighbours have been forced to move away through intimidation with the anti-social behaviour and stuff. House burglaries became an everyday thing. Most people moved away but I feel sorry for the ones that own their house here and can't sell.”

Mr Dutu has called on the authorities to install CCTV and “listen” to the residents who make complaints.

(Image: Mihaela Filip)

Residents hit boiling point

As problems in the area continue, people happy in their homes for years are moving out.

Others who remain say they experience stressful situations on a daily basis.

Kirk Jones, 43, is only being partially tongue-in-cheek when he describes Wendell Street as “the fifth circle of hell.”

Mr Jones says he is desperate to leave and fears his “life is in danger” after a violent incident for which he is also under investigation by police.

The professional artist and sculptor found himself in police custody after, in his own words, “snapping” and becoming involved in a brawl with a group of males on the morning of July 25.

The incident saw Mr Jones arrested on suspicion of affray and racially aggravated assault while two other men were arrested on suspicion of affray.

Released under investigation and awaiting a charging decision, Mr Jones told the Echo he is “not proud” of his behaviour but believes he was driven to violence by his living situation.

He told the Echo: “If you had spoken to me around Christmas I would have said it's not too bad round here, just a bit of bother. But since around May it has become unbearable.

“There is constant screaming, constant shouting, constant intimidation and aggression. It's abysmal. I understand the kids need to play out but not until midnight.”

Mr Jones says on July 25, tensions boiled over when he awoke to loud music coming from a house on the street which he says was a single song playing on repeat over and over again.

He accepts he opened the door and shouted an obscenity, calling for the occupants to turn down the music, but says no-one appeared to be around and he left to go to a nearby shop.

Mr Jones told the Echo as he returned home he was attacked by a group of men and women who punched him and hit him with a pipe until a neighbour intervened.

He claims he fought back to defend himself, before making his way back to his house.

(Image: Andy Teebay/Liverpool Echo)

However the artist says the group returned to his house and began banging on the door.

Mr Jones said: “I thought I am not going to be intimidated, so like Steven Gerrard said I thought 'we go again'.

“I opened the door and said 'what do you want?' and luckily then the police arrived. I have thought about it and I wonder what they came back to do, I feel like my life is in danger.”

Mr Jones says he has never been in trouble with the police before.

He said: “I am an artist, I don't brawl in the street. I think the whole thing is abhorrent. But on that day I just snapped.”

Mr Jones says he feels like the authorities are unwilling to tackle the volatile situation in the streets and problems are ignored.

He said: “Nobody seems to want to do anything.”

'It should not be like this'

(Image: Andy Teebay/Liverpool Echo)

One resident in nearby Holmes Street, who did not wish to be named, said his neighbours on either side had moved out – with one telling how their letter-box and doorbell being stolen from the front of their house.

He said: “One of my neighbours said her son was struggling at school because he could not get to sleep at night.

“It's frustrating. We have met with the councillors and the police but I get the feeling they don't believe it is that bad.

“A lot of anger is towards the landlords. People believe the houses are being sub-let."

The resident, who has owned his home for 14 years and lived there for seven, said he has seen a massive deterioration in the past three or four years.

He said: “If you think about it this area has good links to the city centre, it is not far from Sefton Park, there are amenities. It should not be like this. It is like there is no ambition or drive for the area.”

Other neighbours told similar stories with one woman, who did not wish to be named, describing how she has experienced verbal abuse from gangs of young men.

(Image: Andy Teebay/Liverpool Echo)

Tina Elliott, a resident of nearby Greenleaf Street, said the situation is now “terrible.”

She told the Echo: “I used to love living here but now I don't feel like coming out of my front door. My health has actually deteriorated.”

Ms Elliot said she feels many people from the Roma community have been “dumped” in the area by the authorities with little support.

She described being in constant fear of children being struck by vehicles due to the lack of adult supervision.

She told the Echo: “I lost my little nephew. He was 18 months old but he would have been 35 now. He just ran out in front of a car. I am constantly stressing when I see the babies in the street. You try and tell the mothers but they don't listen.”

One lesser known issue has been caused by the Roma preference for eating Sunflower seeds, with some residents spitting the shells onto the street.

Signs have been put up around the Picton ward urging residents to "do a good deed, quit spitting seeds".

The struggle to make things better

Nathalie Nicholas, a Labour councillor for Picton ward, said: “Residents have contacted the Picton Councillors and made us aware of specific properties of concern we have reported to landlord licensing.

“We have also advised residents to contact and log it with the council. We have been contacted by residents about gatherings of 10- 20 people and we have raised this with the local police and the crime commissioner.

“We have also asked residents to contact the police whenever there is anti-social behaviour or a large gathering which causes fear or intimidation as this was not being done by most residents.”

(Image: © Christian Smith 2012)

In response to complaints about rubbish being dumped, Cllr Nicholas acknowledged flytipping was a “big problem”.

She said: “Our street scene/response officer is out twice weekly in the ward responding to issues and doing planned trade waste licence checks.

“There has been increased resources put in this area to clear the fly-tipping which is mainly furniture and white goods.

“The Picton councillors have used funding from the Mayor's Neighbourhood Fund (MNF) and purchased CCTV to help in obtaining evidence to address the flytipping.”

Cllr Nicholas also accepted problems with unsupervised children in the streets.

She said: “This concern was escalated to the director of children services for an action plan to be implemented to address this.

“We have been out in a collaborative venture with the council community safety team, children services rep and police on impact days.”

Cllr Nicholas pointed to a series of projects aimed at engaging the Roma community and encouraging community cohesion.

(Image: Andy Teebay/Liverpool Echo)

She said: “Picton Councillors have also funded the youth clubs in the area to do work with the young people. The local schools, Children Centre Granby Toxteth Development Trust, and other partners in the ward have also implemented various projects to foster better community integration.”

A spokesperson for Liverpool City Council said: “We are aware of specific issues in this area so Liverpool City Council funds an outreach worker with partners to integrate the different communities and reduce instances of anti-social behaviour.

“We are proactively working toward reducing instances of fly tipping by providing cleansing on a weekly basis to affected areas, and we would encourage residents who are aware of any fly tipping to report it as soon as possible.”

The council urged anyone wishing to report flytipping to do so here.

Building bridges

Romani people have lived in the UK for centuries. But there were significant waves of immigration after the break-up of the Soviet Union and more recently with the expansion of EU member states.

One of the major problems facing efforts to foster greater integration is the lack of solid data - and a lack of understanding of Roma customs.

In a recent speech to the National Roma Network Conference, Labour MP for Stretford and Urmston Kate Green, said there was not adequate information on the Roma Community.

She said: “The government has shown little interest in the difficulties marginalised groups may face in obtaining the information and evidence needed to apply for settled status.

“As a result some will simply stay without it, unrecorded, under the radar, and even more vulnerable. Indeed, there are already reports of Roma who have arrived here lawfully facing deportation when found homeless or unable to supply documents.”

(Image: Andy Teebay/Liverpool Echo)

However a ground-breaking University of Salford study in 2013 stated around 200,000 Roma were living in the UK, described as a “conservative estimate” with the population increasing at a fast pace.

Researchers found local authorities were often “overwhelmed” by settlements of Roma migrants in condensed areas, with savage central government cuts hampering the ability of local councils to address their “complex” needs.

A report on the study said: “A number of authorities reported that they were aware of migrant Roma living in their areas that rarely came into contact with the authority in any way.

“This was largely attributed to migrant Roma tending to be accommodated in private rented housing and not engaging, in any perceptible way, with local authority services or with key statutory partners.”

One local scheme to try and promote cohesion was the funding of a community development worker dedicated to connecting with the Roma population.

Treated as second-class citizens

Alexandra Bahor, who is managed by the Granby Toxteth Community Development Trust, began working in the role in 2015.

Ms Bahor, who identifies as Roma herself, was unavailable for comment but stated in a previous interview: “Many people do not realise that Roma people have fled from countries where they are treated as second class citizens.

“Roma children are segregated in schools and families moved into ghettos, located in areas where no one wants to live, such as beside rubbish and chemical waste dumps.

“They have been discriminated against when applying for jobs and had limited access to health services.”

Ms Bahor said she had been able to build trust in with members of the community, originally from Romania, Poland, Slovakia and Hungary, where other efforts have failed.

She said: “My people are generally fearful of those working for government agencies, based on negative experiences in their native countries. That’s why they are responding to me.”

Ms Bahor set up English classes for adults in Picton and helps people register at children’s centres and for Citizens Advice Bureau services, as well as registering for employment and training support.