The last residents of two shipping container slums branded the “worst place to live in Britain” are finally leaving, amid calls to raze them “once and for all”.
Those who once lived in the “hellholes” of Acton and Ealing, west London, have called for a public inquiry and compensation for the “difficulties” they faced there.
Ealing Council is now decommissioning two shipping container properties called Meath Court and Marston Court.
Residents of Meath Court, in Acton, said living there was like a “third world cesspool”, plagued by serious crime, major hygiene problems and they feared being murdered while waiting for a new home.
They hoped to move out of the apartment at the end of last year, but had to wait months until they could finally start again.
It is understood there is only one resident left, who will soon leave.
One woman, who lived there with her children for several months after fleeing domestic violence, told MailOnline: “It was horrible. Leaving is the best thing that has ever happened to me.”
Meath Court in Acton, where residents claim it is “the worst place to live in Britain”.
The rusty container houses were built by the council as ’emergency accommodation’
Those who once lived in the two shanty estates have called for a public inquiry and compensation for the “difficulties” they faced there.
He added: “It was horrible. My children are traumatized.
‘I and others are considering our legal rights and are thinking about compensation.
‘We didn’t have the opportunity to do it while we lived there because our loves were hell and unmanageable.
‘We lived in constant fear of being mugged, robbed or attacked. We couldn’t wash our clothes because the drug addicts defecated in the laundry room.
‘It smelled bad. Drug consumption and trafficking were widespread. There was constant violence.
‘You wouldn’t house cows there, but they were happy to house victims of domestic abuse and their children.
‘It’s disgusting.’
Speaking earlier this year, Labour-led Ealing Council, which covers the area, said it was committed to removing the families, but terrified locals said they feared being killed while waiting for a new home.
Other issues included prostitution, sexual assault, violence and robbery.
Another woman, who lived in a house with her three children, said: ‘My children still have nightmares where they are afraid.
‘We are much safer now.
‘Ealing Council needs to bulldoze those two sites.
‘Something productive should be put in there. A suitable home and not the shanty area that it was.
“It’s a shame for the council.
‘They need to be lifted to the ground.
“Councilors need a public inquiry to ensure no one else has to suffer anything like this ever again.”
Another former resident said: “We are considering legal action.”
Residents claim their mail was stolen from mailboxes on the estate.
A broken window is boarded up on one of the shipping container’s floors.
Locals compared living there to being in a “third world cesspool.”
Tenants are forced to live in cramped conditions inside shipping container homes.
Traumatized families trying to flee the “slum” housing estate made of rusting shipping containers previously branded it the “worst place to live in Britain” and a “third world cesspool”.
Speaking to MailOnline, a woman who lives there said: “I’m afraid I’ll die here.” This is the worst place to live in Britain. It’s like being in a third world country. “I am afraid that they will kill me or that they will kill my children.”
We also revealed in August conditions at the Marston Court estate in neighboring Ealing, also run by the council, where tenants were so stressed they “wanted to commit suicide”.
A drug dealer, who locals have dubbed the ‘Pablo Escobar of Acton’, with alleged links to organized crime across the country, had been openly dealing cocaine and heroin at the estate, locals said.
Even security guards employed to tackle crime problems are “constantly intimidated” and work in fear of attack.
The Meath Court estate had 60 container houses and many have families with up to eight people living in them despite having only two bedrooms.
In one case, three children lived in a room just two meters wide by five meters long.
Last month, a man who lived on the estate said: “It is an undignified end to an undignified stage of my life to have to live here.” I have no other place to go. It is shameful.
‘Communication has been terrible. They have given me an eviction notice but I have nowhere to go. I’m not sure what will happen. It is awful.
“But I’d rather sleep rough on a park bench than have to endure and deal with Ealing Council again.”
Tenants claimed that human excrement is often found around the estate’s containers.
The farm has 60 container houses and many have families of up to eight people.
An Ealing Council spokesperson said: ‘There has long been a chronic shortage of affordable housing in Ealing. But the system is now under extreme pressure, and unprecedented numbers of local households have no choice but to turn to us for emergency help because they are at immediate risk of becoming homeless.
‘In recent years we have seen a step change in the availability of affordable accommodation in our borough, with private rentals almost doubling in some areas since 2018.
‘With landlords and B&Bs leaving the market, there are far fewer options available.
‘The cost of living crisis and high interest rates are among several factors that have led to the large increase in the number of homeless proposals we receive.
‘The modular homes in Meath and Marston Courts were an attempt by the council to find innovative solutions to the affordable housing crisis.
‘We are decommissioning both sites as a direct result of concerns raised about the quality of accommodation.
‘We have already relocated almost all the residents. Of the five remaining tenants, three will move into their new accommodation this week, while the remaining two have pending evictions.’