Furious residents of Jaywick Sands have defended their village after a Republican Congressional candidate used an image of a run-down street to warn voters of what America could be like if they don’t support President Trump.
The seaside area in Essex has twice been identified as the most deprived neighbourhood in England in the past decade but millions of pounds have been spent in recent years on improvements including roads and drainage.
And residents said the village was ‘on the up’ following the political advert which supported Dr Nick Stella in the 11th Illinois district race against Democrat Bill Foster ahead of the midterm elections.
Some did see the funny side but many claimed the photo was ‘annoying and unfair’ to everyone particularly as Dr Stella had never been there, while others said it ‘hurt’ to have their home mocked.
Residents of Jaywick Sands have hit back at an American Congressional candidate over an attack ad against the Democrats using a picture of their village. Pictured is Jaywick today which has recently had many road improvements
The advert, pictured, for Republican congressional candidate Dr Nick Stella used a picture of Jaywick Sands to warn voters of the ‘consequences’ of supporting the Democrats
Millions of pounds have since been spent on the village infrastructure, pictured, and locals say Jaywick is ‘on the up’
Nicole Thomas, 17, left, said it was ‘unfair’ criticism from Dr Stella given he had ‘never been to Jaywick’ while Kevin Humphreys, 57, right , said he ‘hopes the US ends up looking even worse’ because of the advert
The advert, which was shared on Dr Stella’s Facebook page but has since been taken down, used a picture of a road in Jaywick Sands, near Clacton, Essex, showing a row of houses on a pothole-strewn road.
It says: ‘Help President Trump keep America on track and thriving. A vote for Foster is a vote for a Speaker Pelosi. We can’t go back to foreclosures, unemployment and economic recession!’
Across the top of the image, next to a picture of Congresswoman Pelosi, it reads: ‘Only YOU can stop this from becoming a REALITY!’
Catherine Roberts, 46, a mother-of-three from Jaywick, said: ‘This picture is so offensive.
‘I have lived here 17 years, I have brought up my children here and I love living here, so to see my home spoken of like this hurts.
The image was shared on Dr Stella’s (pictured) Facebook page, which has since been taken down. His staff have also said there was no intention to ‘smear’ the village
‘We have a great sense of community here. It has everyone in the village angry and we won’t stand for it.
‘Not a single road here looks so broken and messed up like that.’
Nicole Thomas, 17, a college student from Jaywick, was furious about the attack ad.
She said: ‘This photo has really really annoyed me. I am almost 18 and have been down here my entire life and this is unfair to all of us.
‘We live down here and don’t want to see our village made to look look so terrible by an American who has probably never been here.
‘Jaywick is safe and and we all feel comfortable around eachother.
‘It was halloween the other day and we all were out in the streets having fun- families, friends and kids, you name it.
‘This photo is nothing nothing like what Jaywick looks like now.
If you walk down any street you will see all our roads have been done and a lot of effort has been done to clean the streets up. You won’t see any litter or a pothole on my road.’
Parts of Jaywick, such as this road, pictured, are still to be revamped and contain potholes
Mother-of-three Catherine Roberts, 46, left, said the advert was ‘offensive’ and it ‘hurts’ to see Jaywick mocked and Darrren Siequien, 55, right, said Jaywick was ‘pretty good living’
The town is one of the UK’s most deprived, despite being just a few miles down the road from the affluent retirement area of Frinton-on-Sea. Flytipping, pictured, has also previously been a problem in the area
But locals say problems with potholes and litter are largely gone and much of the village is now ‘spotless’
Darren Siequien, 55, a warehouse worker, added: ‘Its pretty good living here- it is all right.
‘Yes, the village has its bad points but its also got its good points but at the end of the day it is what you make it.
‘And we have made it a happy community.
‘Trump should be ashamed for letting anyone badmouth the UK like that, which is why I prefer Obama – he would never have allowed anything like this to happen under his watch. I hope that photo doesn’t get anymore coverage.’
Officials in Jaywick Sands, which was the most deprived neighbourhood in England in 2010 and 2015, have also reacted with fury.
Kevin Humphreys, 57, unemployed, from Jaywick, said: ‘I had a good laugh at this when I saw this picture online and I hope after mocking us like this, America ends up looking even worse.
‘They deserve it for making Jaywick look so terrible when it is nothing like that.
‘That photo is ancient anyway- that was when we were at our worst but there will be places in the States that even today look a lot worse us, that I can assure you.
‘Have you seen our new roads? They are spotless.’
Paul Honeywood, who is responsible for Jaywick on Tendring District Council, described the use of the image as ‘appalling’ and added the council was focused on improving quality of life in the village, pictured
Councillors also challenged Dr Stella to come and visit the area, pictured
Paul Honeywood, who is responsible for Jaywick on Tendring District Council, described the use of the image as ‘appalling’.
He said: ‘For starters, Dr Stella is very out of date – Essex County Council completed a two-year £6.5million programme to improve the roads and drainage in Jaywick Sands in 2017.
‘Since the old image used in this campaign poster was taken support from Government, Essex County Council and other bodies has helped to build upon the work we as a council were already doing to improve the quality of life for residents.
‘Now we have new roads, new high quality council homes for local people being built alongside approved plans for top quality apartments overlooking the sea. All supported by a Government-backed project group looking at financing investment in the area. Positive plans for Jaywick Sands, a community that’s on the up.
‘I know that many Jaywick Sands residents will be outraged at being smeared in this way and rightly so.
‘Perhaps Dr Stella would like to come down and visit Jaywick Sands to learn about how we really get things done, rather than engaging in this sort of negative campaigning?’
Kevin Watson, who represents Jaywick on Tendring council, also said progress was being made in the area.
He was stunned to hear the Republican party had been using the one-time resort in such a controversial manner.
Shocking images previously show enormous piles of rubbish springing up near people’s homes in the town, but millions of pounds have since been spent on improvements
‘I am astounded that the country the size of America and everything that goes on there, that they even know about Jaywick.
‘When I heard about this I thought it was a joke. Things are very much on the up here.’
Filmmaker Penelope Read, who made a documentary called Jaywick: A Diamond in the Rough, added she would ‘happily show Dr Stella the ‘real village’ and praised the council for improvements.
She told the broadcaster: ‘Jaywick is starting to really go forward and it makes me really cross when it gets this bad publicity.
‘Of course there are things that are wrong currently but they are being improved.’
Raquel Mitchell, campaign director for Dr Stella, said there was no intention to ‘smear’ the town and it was not named in the advert.
She added the village was ‘charming’ and suggested a visit by Dr Stella to ‘exchange ideas between the areas’.
With an overall total of 32,844 it came the second-worst place for employment, 17th-worst for income, 5th-worst for education, and 16th-most crime-ridden in 2015
Earlier this year shocking pictures showed huge piles of rubbish in the village which residents demanded be cleaned up after describing it as a ‘Third World tip’.
The sprawling waste pile spreads out across a residential area of over 50ft and even included a stripped down car, sofas, fridge freezers and a boat.
It came after the village had been boosted by a £5million investment in the past two years with major improvements to local roads.
New surfaces have been laid with better drainage to help reduce the risk of flooding in the streets.
In 2015 the small seaside town got the worst score in a nationwide Government assessment of deprivation, income, poverty and crime.
With an overall total of 32,844 it came the second-worst place for employment, 17th-worst for income, 5th-worst for education, and 16th-most crime-ridden.
Seaside: A man is pictured walking along Jaywick Sands Beach, Essex
Beach-side homes in Jaywick, Essex where residents are furious at Donald Trump’s comments