Harry Styles' hometown of Redditch is so dull it's been dubbed "Deaditch" - filled with rows of empty shops and overrun by drug-fuelled yobs."

The Worcestershire town, known historically for its needle and fish-hook trade, was once a thriving retail hub with a buzzing music scene.

Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham, pop megastar Harry Styles and Dodgy lead singer Nigel Clark all hail from the town.

A statue commemorating the late John Bonham still stands near the high street as a permanent reminder of Redditch's proud musical heritage.

But today the town, which is home to around 87,000 residents, feels so dreary many locals have nicknamed it "Deaditch"."

The once lively centre is now a depressing array of boarded-up shops, graffiti-covered storefronts and derelict pubs.

The Wetherspoon pub The Rising Sun still stands empty and abandoned with a For Sale sign above the front door since it closed in April 2023.

Even the usually bustling Kingfisher Shopping Centre is desperate for traders to move into vacant units.

More than 20 units lie empty in the shopping centre which opened to huge fanfare in 1976 by former Prime Minister James Callaghan.

Even charities are considering leaving the town with the Cancer Research shop set to close next year.

Residents say gangs of feral yobs are taking over the most deprived corners of the town with drugs being blamed for the rise in anti-social behaviour.

Gran Maggie Scott, 72, said she no longer felt safe to go out after dark.

The retired carer said: "I lived here in the 1980s and it was a much different place then. "

"There was a buzz around the town and people went out. Shopping was great and there was a good atmosphere about the place. "

"Now I rarely go into town and never at night despite living walking distance from the centre. "

"The big shops have all left and all you have left are vape shops and charity shops. "

"If I go shopping or meet friends I go to Birmingham on the train. It's got far more to offer than here." "

Retired club doorman Phil Jones, 62, said he had suffered verbal and physical abuse from yobs in the town.

He said: "The place has definitely declined. I often meet up with mates who lived in Redditch to reminisice about the old days. "

"We'd talk about going around the town and in the pubs. You can't recognise the town now and places I wouldn't go into now. "

"I've been verbally abused in the street before now. I accidentally bumped into someone who was really offensive. "

"They swore at me and even threatened me with a penknife."



More than half of households in the town are classed as deprived, and nearly a quarter of the town's 150 retail and office units sit empty.

Business owner Suela Cangaj has run the Three Cooks coffee lounge in the town centre for ten years.

She said: "The situation now is very very bad. My takings have gone down 30 or 40 per cent. People have no money to spend on food and drink."

"Every day is a struggle. Lots of shops and businesses have left because they can't afford the rents. People also have very little money and they don't come into the town."

"I have had several discussions with my husband about whether we can even afford to stay open. It is really bad, no wonder people call it Deaditch not Redditch."

Drug use is also a major problem, with 299 drug-related offences between last January and June this year.

This compares to 261 offences in neighbouring Wychavon and 215 in nearby Bromsgrove.

PC Mike Moore, a safer neighbourhoods officer for West Mercia Police, told ITV: "We do tackle the drug problem in Redditch quite robustly. "

"We have a train line that ends in Redditch which is possibly and easy way to facilitate bringing drugs in from other areas by County Lines."

Drug-fuelled crime has become such a serious issue a Public Space Protection Order was brought in to give police more powers to crackdown on troublemakers.