Traumatised families trying to flee a ‘slum’ housing estate made of rusting shipping containers have branded it the ‘worst place to live in Britain’ and a ‘third world cesspit’.
Dozens of people living in the makeshift properties are being rehomed but have been warned the process could take months.
They are desperate to leave the Meath Court estate in Acton, west London, which they have described as a ‘hell hole’.
They hoped to be gone by the end of the year but have been warned it could take as long as June.
Labour-led Ealing Council, which covers the area, said it is committed to getting them out.
But terrified locals said they are scared they could be murdered while they wait for a new home.
One woman told MailOnline: ‘I fear I will die here. This is the worst place to live in Britain. It’s like being in a third world country. I am terrified I will be killed or my children will be killed.’
Families living in the rusting shipping container homes of the Meath Estate in Acton (pictured) have called it a ‘third world cesspit’
Filth old matrress and a bedframe lay dumped on the estate residents have called a ‘hell hole’
A broken window is left boarded up on one of the shipping container flats in west London
Residents have been promised they will be homed by Ealing Council but may have to wait months until they can finally leave the flats
MailOnline revealed conditions on a similar estate in neighbouring Ealing, also run by the council, in August where tenants were so stressed they ‘wanted to kill themselves’.
Ealing Council said it would be closing Marston Court because it was ‘not fit for purpose’.
But Meath Court residents – too afraid to be pictured – may have to wait longer.
They have reported serious crimes such as attempted murder, sex assaults, violence, prostitution, drug dealing and taking, thefts and robberies taking place every week.
They say pimps operate ‘every hour of every day’.
Police even arrested one troublemaker while MailOnline visited one day this week.
One drug dealer – which locals have dubbed the ‘Pablo Escobar of Acton’ – with alleged organised crime links across the country, had been openly dealing cocaine and heroin in the estate, locals said.
Even security guards employed to tackle the crime issues are ‘constantly bullied’ and work in fear of attacks.
Speaking to Mail Online, many said they fear being murdered in Hope Gardens, a cramped estate housing hundreds of people.
Many are vulnerable, domestic abuse victims or have suffered hardship or homelessness.
The estate has 60 shipping container homes, many have families with as many as eight living in, despite only having two bedrooms.
In many cases three children are living in one bedroom which is just two metres wide by five metres long.
The site was due to be closed down earlier in December. Some locals claim they have been told it will not shut entirely until June.
Residents say the estate is rife with crime and MailOnline saw a man being arrested when visiting earlier this week
Residents claim their post has been stolen out of letter boxes on the estate (pictured)
Residents are terrified they could be ‘killed’ before they managed to get rehomed
Tenants are forced to live in cramped conditions inside the shipping container homes. Pictured, a bedroom where three children sleep
Meath Court in Acton where residents claim it is ‘the worst place to live in Britain’
Mum-of-four Irene Parker, 41, told us: ‘I fear I will die here. This is the worst place to live in Britain.
‘I have depression and my doctor said it is because of my living conditions. That is clinical depression.
‘It’s like being in a third world country. I am terrified I will be killed or my children will be killed.
‘This is a hellhole. It is disgusting. It is a third world cesspit.
‘There are prostitutes and pimps everywhere. People openly have sex. There are crack addicts everywhere.
‘Drug dealing is open and rife. There is a launderette on the site but people are constantly defecating in our clothes.
‘It is beyond vile. If they do not defecate in them then they regularly get stolen.
‘I hate it here but I cannot go anywhere else. I am a mum-of-three and I moved here because of domestic violence.
‘My life is pure misery here.’
In September, she said a packet of bullets were even found in the estate.
Residents also said many flats were riddled with mould and damp.
Despite the sorry state, the average house price in Ealing is £739,000.
Many houses within half a mile of the block fetch well over £1 million.
Another local, who did not want to be named, said: ‘We are a forgotten group of people. Politicians do not care about us unless it’s about looking good and getting votes.
‘It’s a load of rubbish. We have heard it all before. I have been here for two years and I hate it. We are third-class citizens.
‘It’ is like a forgotten world. I do not feel safe.’
Melissa Rowland, 42, who has lived there for two years, said it had been the scene of weekly violent attacks as a result of drug dealing.
The mum-of-three said: ‘It’s worse than the wild west. It’s lawless.
‘The police do not care.
‘It’s slum housing.
‘There has been attempted rapes here, sexual assaults, drug dealing everyday. Terrifying levels of violence, I have witnessed severe beatings.
‘The houses are so cramped. It’s five or six people living in a home fit for two. I have three children in one tiny bedroom. It’s is truly awful.
‘I hate my life.’
The rusting shipping container homes were built by the council as ’emergency accomodation’ more than a decade ago
Locals believe they have been ‘forgotten’ by the authorities but Ealing Council says it remains committed to rehousing the tenants
Tenants claim human excrement is often found around the bins on the estate
A man is arrested outside the estate in west London where locals fear for their safety
Melissa said Ealing Council had said she might be able to be rehoused to Slough in Berkshire. But that would mean a change of schools for her children.
She added: ‘I’m not sure it can be worse than this. This is not fit for animals.’
Another local added: ‘The drug dealing and prostitution would be a big enough problem to move in itself, never-mind everything else.
‘There was a guy here known as the Pablo Escobar of Ealing.
‘He had links all over the country to drugs. He was dealing everything on this estate. It took police several years to arrest him.
‘It hasn’t stopped the dealing. If anything there is now more of it.
‘I have people having sex outside my bedroom door most days with my children in the house. That is disgusting.
‘They have seen the drug dealing as well, they know how bad it is here. They have seen people taking them openly on the stairs outside their front doors.
‘What sort of life is that for them?’
Another said: ‘My children see this and they think is this life in Britain now? Is this the best the world has to offer them?
‘I work. I am a cleaner and I work long hours to provide for my family. I was forced to flee because my partner was extremely violent.
‘I was moved here for protection and safety. But it is far from those things.
‘I do not think life can get much lower or worse than this. It is truly appalling.’
Sophia Buxton, interim political assistant to the Labour group at Ealing Council, described rehoming residents as ‘complex’.
She told the Ealing Times: ‘The task of decommissioning Meath and Marston Courts and ensuring all residents have appropriate housing elsewhere is complex and cannot be achieved overnight.’
The Metropolitan Police said officers had ‘stepped up’ patrols around the estate and had made a ‘concerted effort’ to tackle crime.
A spokesperson said: ‘Over the past few months, we are disappointed to see that the Meath Estate has experienced an unfortunate increase in criminal activity and anti-social behaviour, which we acknowledge.
‘Ealing Police Safer Neighbourhood Teams have stepped up its presence in the area, with daily patrols by uniform officers and PCSO’s, providing a visible and reassuring presence for the local residents.’
Ealing Council was approached for comment.
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