The UK seaside city full of drugs, crime and ‘very grey’ streets – ‘it’s a sh**hole’ | UK | Travel

This Portsmouth neighbourhood isn’t what features on postcards. Visitors are more likely to head for the beach in Southsea, shopping in Gunwharf Quays or exploring the Historic Dockyard. But a little further inland beyond the tourist attractions sit the terraced streets of Fratton, perhaps best known as the home of Portsmouth Football Club, built in 1899, famous for being one of the most compact and loudest grounds in the country.

The busy residential neighbourhood doesn’t quite have the same visual charm as its neighbour Old Portsmouth, and faces issues with deprivation and crime. Despite its central position on Portsea Island, walking through Fratton you’d have no idea of its proximity to the seaside. Part of it was among the most deprived 10% in England in the Index of Multiple Deprivation 2025, based on factors like income, employment and education.

Locals do not mince their words online and have previously taken to Reddit and Facebook to share their frustrations about their home. “Fratton has got a lot rougher in recent years,” Reddit user Gazztop13. “It’s central to everything but also very, very grey and built-up, so unless you are next to a park it can feel pretty bleak there.”

Another added: “I like Fratton, but it absolutely has become a fly-tipping nightmare”. Taking to Facebook, other residents agreed with the fly-tipping issue. “I can’t wait to move out,” one claims, explaining that the issue got worse a couple of years ago. “It’s a sh*thole, I am ashamed to live here,” another added.

The Express visited to see what the area is really like. But on Fratton Road, the main street lined with convenience stores and takeaways, security guard Nazar Abuzaid says crime remains one of the area’s biggest challenges.

“It’s bad. It’s drugs. Shoplifting,” he tells the Express.

Mr Abuzaid has to watch one regular thief “every day”, but having worked at a shopping centre since 2016, he says the issues are not too dissimilar from those in other towns, and he has “strong relationships” with the majority of customers.

“Some of them are friendly, some of them are not, but depends on your attitude, the way how you serve yourself, the way you deal with them.”

In Fratton and neighbouring Baffins, shoplifting was reported 42 times in March and April, according to police statistics. Violence and sexual offences represented a sobering number of reports in March and April, representing 219 of the 489.

Fratton is far from alone. Shoplifting has spiked to record levels in England and Wales, with 530,643 reported offences in the year to March 2025, a 20% increase from the previous year, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

For mother and son Danny and Mandy Metcalfe, they enjoy living in the area, but hint that it has a tough exterior.

“It’s alright,” says Mandy cheerily. “You’ve just got to hold your own. I’ve sort of grew up here since I was about 18, so it’s just a way of life.”

She mentioned neighbouring areas such as Stamshaw have a bad reputation, in the north-west of Portsea Island in Portsmouth, but Mandy has never experienced problems herself.

Asked what keeps them in the area, the convenient location is a key selling point, with everything in walking distance so you don’t need a car.

One young mother enjoying an afternoon in the park also enjoys living so close to the seafront, the city centre and parks. She was pleased to see investment in local facilities, with a two-storey leisure centre being built in nearby Bransbury Park.

Evelinne Eueale, 20, is equally as positive. Having lived in Fratton all her life, she describes it as a “really nice” place with plenty to do nearby and a “great community”. While she acknowledges most attractions lie beyond Fratton, she likes how well-connected the neighbourhood is.

“It’s really nice. There’s a beach, and you can visit all sorts of places, museums, and I go with my parents all over. Not necessarily Fratton, but Bournemouth whenever I can,” she says. “You can go to Southsea, Historic Dockyard.”

At a tattoo parlour, Steve, 59, tells us he has spent most of his life in Fratton and describes the area as “alright”. But when asked whether he likes living there, his answer is immediate: “Yeah, yeah, yeah, definitely.”

There is nothing glamorous that meets the eye, but wander beyond the fast food chains and Tesco that split the football stadium and a massive retail park, and craft beer lovers will stumble upon a lesser-known, trendier side of town at the Staggeringly Good brewery, which wouldn’t look out of place in an edgy quarter of east London.

But match days are truly when Fratton comes alive. Its typically grey and rundown streets are transformed hours before kick-off, as stampedes of Portsmouth FC fans spill onto the pavements, rendering motorists helpless but to share the road with thousands of pedestrians.

The stadium is so close to flats and houses that some lucky residents can see the action from their garden, while others have reported feeling their home shake after a Pompey goal.

Fratton may battle a gritty reputation, yet, beneath the grey exterior lies a loyal community, convenience, and a vibrant match-day spirit that keeps it the beating heart of Portsmouth.