Town 'crying out for help' after a year of violence

LOCALS WANT MORE POLICE AS INCIDENTS RAISE CONCERNS

- By OSCAR FISHER

ILKESTON is "crying out for help", according to some residents, after a catalogue of recent incidents in the area, with one local business owner describing it as a "disgrace".

Those were just a few of the words used to describe the town by its inhabitants, many of whom are left to look to reflect on the past as the town's reputation suffers in the present day.

Since December, three men have been killed in the town: Luke Elliott-Shircore, 44, was found dead at his home in Ilkeston on June 25, 19-year-old Liam Derret died following an attack on Market Place on June 1, and 18-year-old Noah Smedley was fatally stabbed in Heanor Road on December 28.

The recent sexual assaults took place in a wooded area near the cemetery on Cantelupe Road, with one man being charged and remanded to prison on June 14. The second incident took place on Sunday, in which a man sexually assaulted a woman while she was walking home at around 2.15am.

The events have left the town frustrated and in mourning, with many people asking how it has become such a hotspot for violence.

Richard Hallam owns The Corner Cafe in Market Place and has spent more than four decades in and around the town, both working and as a visitor.

In his words, the town is a "disgrace" and needs care from top to bottom, whether it is overgrown trees blocking street lamps in shaded corners of the town or a lack of road sweeping on the Market Place.