There goes the neighborhood...

Now that the gangsters are gone crime is rampant:

...if 360-degree CCTV cameras can't prevent Bestwood being the European burglary capital, what on earth will?

The answer is a shocking indictment of law and order in this country and a deep embarrassment for the police.

For many householders in the area say that the greatest deterrent to the casual burglar used to be the presence on the estate of one of Britain's most ruthless crime families.

....They were ruthless mafia-style operators. For example, if a "foot soldier" in this gang stepped out of line, he would be executed.

In one instance, they allegedly fed a man's body to pigs on a nearby farm.

But a major police effort in the past 18 months has seen two of the main figures in the organisation - both of whom lived in Bestwood - jailed for murder and drugs offences.

And while justice may have been done, the shocking truth is that burglary statistics in Bestwood have gone through the roof since the two were put away - whereas they had been falling.

Locals say it was the absence of the police that enabled the family to take control of the estate, after the uniformed presence was reduced from regular bobbies on the beat to the occasional patrol car.

...."The council treat us like scum but the family have respect. They have always treated us properly.

"If there was ever a problem on the estate, it was them who you went to see to sort it out."

....Another local said of the rise in the number of break-ins since the crime family was smashed: "There is now an element on the estate causing trouble.

"There are things going on which would have been sorted out by them - they would pull people into line when people were acting out of order in the community."