Yahoo News Hanley's troubles laid bare as half-naked men hang out in 'den of iniquity'
A city centre passageway hidden away from view has become a 'den of iniquity' where drugs and prostitutes gather. CCTV footage shows half-naked men congregating to shoot up and smoke pipes on private land where bins are stored behind The Hanley Cafe in Huntbach Street, Hanley.
A grotty piece of scrubland opposite the eatery close to Meigh Street Car Park is also attracting Stoke-on-Trent's most vulnerable residents.
Photos and footage shared with StokeonTrentLive appear to show men - some of them topless - under the influence. Once they leave, drug paraphernalia is often left behind on the steps or in the grass.
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One man, who lives in a flat nearby but has asked not to be named due to fears of reprisals, is calling on the authorities to do more to clean up Hanley.
He says he has previously been threatened by drug users who 'shoot-up' and has also been offered sexual services. The land in question is just a 30-second walk from the main entrance to the Potteries Shopping Centre, the iconic Blue Clock and NatWest bank.
He told StokeonTrentLive: "This is right in Hanley town centre. Every day CCTV captures them. People are selling and using drugs and getting drunk. There's needles everywhere.
"They make a mess behind the cafe, sometimes they sleep there. I've also seen fighting. We are scared now but we can't say anything.
"I have been approached by prostitutes. I am scared. I am just fed up with it. It is every day.
"It is time the police and the council got their acts together. They push them from the city centre on to this private land. It needs stopping."
