Quote Originally Posted by The Minn Junta View Post
That's right Mick, we moved into the area in 1981, the Lye has always been quite a busy little high street as I'm sure you know as it's the main drag from Halesowen to Stourbridge.

I went school in the area, worked at a local Engineering company and played for the Shovel, my doctor was up the Lye, had my car repaired at Jackson Street, bought clobber off Freddy Smith so I think it's fair to say I know a bit about the place. Lye high street is virtually no go nowadays (particularly on an evening) for the very reasons you explained. Only recently my mother who's now in her mid seventies was driving down the high street and Eastern Europeans and Asians were running a mock from one side of the road to the other literally a couple of feet in front of her. It frightened the life out of her as she had to stand on the brakes, not to mention felt extremely intimidated. All of this took place beneath the monument of a WW1 soldier on our war memorial for the brave men of Lye who gave up their lives for the town and country they were no doubt proud to come from. She's regularly gone to the many curry houses up there on a night out with her friend down the years, starting way back at Mr.Daves if you remember?

She's adamant now she'll never go up there ever again.

I had to attend a wake last year at Quarry Bank Cons club, it's been donkeys years since I've been in there. Whether your from the Lye, Brierley Hill or wherever, I can tell you now you've always been as safe as houses in Quarry Bank. The barman was telling me how bad its got in the high street as Romanians from Lye are coming into Quarry Bank on a night time and targeting locals, he told me about muggings and beatings, he said it's no go on an evening, especially if they're about. That was his account on things anyway, needless to say I was pretty shocked.

Did you hear the story of the white English lady who wanted to open a shop up Lye high street and was rounded on and threatened by a group of Asian men who threatened her to drop the idea or else?

It all gone to 5h1t mate, brilliant minds, sportsmen, musicians my arse, stick your stats WBA 123, try opening your eyes instead.

That's a brilliant post Minn…….every bit of it reflects what i know and feel of the area.

I went to school 1/4 of a mile from Lye,a lot of my mates and my brother's mates were Lye lads.

One of his good mates was Keith Dubberley who's dad ran the Station pub for donkeys years,rough diamonds the Lye lot always were but salt of the earth many of them.

I'm not a fan of curry but you'll be aware that Lye had become "Balti Central" over the last 15 years,our Asian locals had thriving businesses and it was like a summers night in Blackpool most evenings with crowds of people and families travelling to sample highly regarded local cuisine……….apparently the a r s e has dropped out of that market in the last two years because it's become a "no go" area not only at night but during the day.

I know of recent cases of white women being ***ually assaulted by these Eastern Europeans in the last couple of years,we never had this sort of trouble with the large Asian community.

I was a frozen food rep for years and used to call on a lot of local Indian shopkeepers when i worked for Ashfords Frozen Food in Wollaston from 84-91….people like Mr Matharu up on Crosswalks ( still there! ) and Dass on Drew Rd in Pedmore….hard working families doing long hours,not like these street thieving scum that got dumped in Lye.

The men are sending out their women and small children to beg in Lye and Stourbridge…..and when i say beg i mean in a really aggressive manner.

My good mate who no longer posts on here ( BrockmoorBaggie ) moved to Lye in 2016,he loves the place ( or did ) and he watches Lye Town FC as well as Stourbridge FC with me,big lad is Neil,can handle himself but last autumn he was attacked in broad daylight whilst popping into Lye for a quick shop,bashed from behind by three of these Eastern European lot.

Another mate owns a local newsagent…..he's been held up twice in the last year,on the last occasion he kicked the bloke in the nuts rather than hand over his cash from the till.

I have a cousin in the North East who works at a university,she's been there since she left school,she can't understand me at all,i'm a horrible bloke……she has all races and creeds at her university…..wonderful people.

She lives in a lovely village up there……..i asked her how close her nearest "ethnic" neighbour was…….her dad laughed out loud and said…."oh we don't have them up here bonny lad".

I made the point to her that the "lovely people at the uni" are the sort of people we DO want in the country because they want to work and aspire but what we don't want is lowlife and scum…………she wouldn't answer me when i asked how she'd feel if hundreds of these people were parachuted into her village and her daughter was being hassled by them or being threatened.

My mum is a bit older than your's Minn…she's 80 this year and only lives a mile from the epi centre of this,my daughters and two grandchildren are around a mile from Lye,it's a constant worry.

All i'd say to you 123 ( because i'm not looking for a fight over this ) is that a lot of us have fears based on what we're living.

I don't know where you live,you don't seem keen to let us know that but please don't judge those who are having to deal with the destruction of a way of life they've known for decades up until recently.