Dark side of Blackpool: residents tell of drug users "burning heroin and sniffing coke" near schools

It’s one of Britain’s iconic seaside towns, known for its beach, pleasure piers and the imposing Blackpool tower.
But in recent years, Blackpool has been attracting attention for all the wrong reasons.
The town now has the highest rate of deaths related to drug misuse in England and Wales.
It’s a battle the people here have been fighting for a number of years.
Blackpool topped the list between 2017 and 2019 with 18.9 deaths per 100,000 people, now that rate is 18 percent higher at 22.1 deaths.
But do the people of Blackpool believe these grim statistics paint a fair picture of their town?
We went to Lancashire to find out.
Read more: www.thesun.co.uk/news/1582126...
The Sun newspaper brings you the latest breaking news videos and explainers from the UK and around the world
Become a Sun Subscriber and hit the bell to be the first to know
Read The Sun: www.thesun.co.uk
Like The Sun on Facebook: / thesun
Follow The Sun on Twitter: / thesun
Subscribe to The Sun on Snapchat: / 1633225139

[@lordmfitzgerald3rd754]

It’s horrible what’s happened to that place. It’s vile, not what I remember it being as a kid.

[@omydog3794]

I Remember when Blackpool rock was a confection.

[@engste678]

Best comment yet 👍

[@davemcmahon4045]

omydog • 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@lesleyhogg2495]

Just back from Blackpool; first and last time. Could not believe the ratio

[@danijames6338]

Makes you think. We had a really great family holiday in Blackpool a few years ago. Just to think only a few streets back from the front you'll see this level of deprivation.

[@ianpoulter1442]

…maybe should rename it “smack-pool”🤪😂

[@lilgeorge34]

Its such a shame when you see this side of Blackpool....all those grand houses in ruins. I went here all my life for our holidays and loved it, but its not the same now. Sad.

[@stephenriley2575]

I been Blackpool today. I still Love it.

[@thetruth1167]

Lady at the end hits the nail on the head, people not working is the problem

[@edwinturner1149]

wouldn’t live there rent free,Albright for a day trip,end of

[@prettydodgy9673]

Thats part of the issue, but the main issue is how Blackpool functions, it works on a Seasonal economy and the jobs are temporary you have work for a few months a year then it dries up as quick as it came.

[@yosefkorn]

You should come to Manchester, its everywhere. In england you're more likely to die of an overdose than a natural death.

[@milesgeary9213]

Obviously the situation with drugs in Blackpool isn't good, but it's not unprecedented in the developed world. 22.1 per 100,000 is lower than the drug overdose death rate in 11 US states. I live in Connecticut and our overdose rate is 27.5 per 100,000, West Virigina, which tops the list in the US is at over 42.

[@wozza188dw]

Stop sending all the drug users down to the coast and reckon it for all

[@johnnickson9780]

Good selection of Blackpool residences there!

[@Bevvi1]

I thought that 😂

[@ovobegzinoii51]

This is an issue with the most of UK and If it isn't it soon will be. The Problem with most of the English is that they have lost their identity, Culture and Religion and have nothing to believe in that matters. So they turn to drugs and alcohol and end up depressed. Sad but true

[@andywright3450]

Theres drugs in every city or town not just Blackpool

[@dovidell]

Southend on Sea , Essex doesn't seem to be fairing any better

[@eddiegrimm9462]

Sun sea and spice

[@paulkenchington6976]

You need to visit Bournemouth.. More drug users and sellers than Colombia.

[@tootsy1100]

I'm sick of seeing people on drugs when i can't get any

[@gevishkumarkheddo]

Ever since Little T Blackpool has been on a downfall.

[@billbones7259]

Little t is a hip hop legend

[@paulnicolas172]

I have lived in Blackpool for 25 years now and I think it’s a great place especially for places to visit and entertainment if you also include the other close by resorts as well such as st Annes and Cleveleys especially now the season has extended to January but the other half of me yearns for more - a lot still needs to be done and the council are either hardly doing anything or doing it very slowly - I mean the council have been promising a lot but hardly doing much over the years . I’ve been living here and it’s hardly changed much since the 90s and have seen less and less tourists coming and a quarter of people are unemployed here, there is a lot of crime and homeless increasing - it’s like every 200m I walk along the prom I see a homeless person sitting there and they harass people for money - it’s depressing and Its easy to see how tourists feel when they see this and then the town gets a bad reputation . But year after year hardly anything is being done . There’s some very derelict buildings and houses on the backstreets behind the prom . It seems like the government would rather line its own pockets and spend on the wages for the tons of people in the House of Lords most of whom are not really needed (the elite) and foreign aid and immigration than deal with its internal problems . I don’t think it will ever change significantly enough well at least not for the current generation anyway .

[@lynnescaddan8919]

@paulnicolas172 The government don't seem to care about anything unless it's money related or it can do good for there careers.

[@paulnicolas172]

@@lynnescaddan8919 Exactly . And we only have labour and conservatives to choose from and one as bad like the other in there own ways and there’s loads of corruption and they are fleasing there own pockets . There is a rumour the council bosses are doing the same in Blackpool especially ?🤔 think there nerds to be a revolution or at least public speakers and demonstrations

[@kitdouglas9295]

Surrounding villages are heinous too. Went to Poulton to visit a friend recently, telesales staff sniffing gear spending there £400.00 a week wages, talking absolute tripe 😂 Never seen so many geeks in one place.

[@patti4785]

And what are the fxxxkin government doing to rectify the situation???

[@paulg5858]

When I was a kid, I used to go blackpool and it was safe for families, now its gone really down hill, full of drug addicts, its like all the drug addicts have all come to blackpool and not left and made the area go really down hill..... Needs money spent on blackpool and need to get rid of the drunk problem... and generate jobs...

[@JustWilson]

I love the northern/asain accent mix

[@Dave-hu5hr]

👾

[@realsuperdoctor5260]

Blackpool is more like Lackpool because the fun has been stripped right out of it, everywhere you go there is always someone begging for spare change, skanky girls walking about the streets lots of lost souls, people dont know who they are and what they are that goes for the younger ones that live there too, the smell of weed is present everywhere it's a far cry from what it used to be.

[@_v-.]

Anyone know if Collin Clapp is still about?

[@gagiman7273]

Dump of a place

[@nbandpinportugal]

And the part " multiculturalism " has played in this ? And what has Blackpool Borough Council and Lancashire Constabulary done ? The same as they did for Charlene Downes i.e. completely screwed up. And so much for the " Northern Powerhouse " and levelling up.

[@ovobegzinoii51]

Tommy Robinson is that you? Stop trying to blame someone else for your own problems... take ownership coward.

[@nbandpinportugal]

@@ovobegzinoii51 Did that sound good in your head before you posted it because it's meaningless crap to me.

[@knosiemtrzy4294]

Whaaaat? Drugs? In a UK city? No way....

[@garethmckeown1306]

Town not city

[@meilong2338]

I was planning to visit with family, this video has put me right off Looks like drug and thug paradise

[@Bevvi1]

Blackpool has had a great boost post pandemic as more people are staying here. Don't let this video put you off. I live here and its perfectly safe and loads to do. ☺️

[@th8257]

I went a couple of years ago and can safely say it's the worst place I've ever been. Apart from the problems mentioned here, it has a serious problem with paedophiles, as came to light in the Charlene Downes murder case. It's horrible enough for adults, but if you have kids in particular, I'd stay well away.

[@PhillipplaistedPlaisted-qu7nc]

Drug is everywhere in England

[@MrFrog_]

Oh I do like to be beside the seaside.

[@mannymanc1616]

No blackpool town centre is a mess but try getting about blackpool its really nice like most towns in the uk are a mess

[@trumpsmum9210]

Don’t you need too do drugs to live there?

[@Bevvi1]

It certainly helps 😉

[@monacophotographyevents2384]

Like the vast majority of UK seaside 'resorts', run down and tacky.

[@anthonybardsley4985]

Get rid of drugs and prostitution

[@matthewjdouglas6471]

It was the best place in England to a 6 year old in the mid 80s.

[@ChristineFisher123]

There is a lot to do in Blackpool seafront. It is great for a family holiday or a few days getaway even when the weather is not perfect. But venture round the backstreets and you start to see another kind of Blackpool. Having said that...The UK is not the only country with this kind of two-tier situation. There are plenty of poor deprived places abroad in hotter countries...places that are hidden behind the glitzy tourist resorts and facades.. Don't think this is just Blackpool with a problem!

[@bensalter7997]

Sorry for what I did.

[@documax123]

Everything's "iconic."

[@johnnaylor5130]

Those that have not wronged through the first stone

[@simplesimon5739]

Looks like a total sh#$ hole.

[@jasenwright1178]

Get your benefits then down to Wetherspoons for the day! Go home to the shed! Smack heads everywhere!

[@shaungorham7959]

it's over.

[@StrangerThanFiction11]

Jesus Christ died for sinners including you, on the cross with his own blood for your personal sins, repent and get saved or perish with the lost wicked world. God's word is coming to pass, it will only go downhill

[@Godfrey_first_tarnished]

So nothing changed in the last 30years then except they started counting

[@craigmccarthy2114]

Shocking what's happened tay blackpool used tay go there year's defo no the same place heroin its cause off ye buy weed legal in orher country's weeds saved many off a heroin addicts life's no cannabis it's the problem

[@chriscampbell1596]

Second man drug user

[@JOEYBOBO96]

my brother was murdered there . chopped up .

[@robertbones326]

Whoooo drugs !!! 🤤🤤😜🤩

[@guff9567]

'Cos da police are the dealers.

[@andsowot]

Well I know where I'm of to for my domestic holiday🏃‍♂️💨

[@ScruffyDiamond]

All BS. Lived here most of my life and other places around the UK and there's NO difference. Everywhere has good and bad areas. At least Blackpool has some really cool stuff to do.

[@whathandleUtalkabt]

Alex Belfield will be there Oct first. Go figure

[@andyg8271]

Should be a good night

[@stephanblack4558]

Gays and drugs.

[@rosatamayo447]

ANY PLACE WITH NO GOD.....THERE IS ONLY, DESPARE,,,, I AM SO SORRY... 😪🙏🙏🙏

[@jimbob8385]

Afghanistan has a lot of believers. And so does Palastine.

[@missbohochic751]

It’s a beautiful city beautiful seafront

[@stephanblack4558]

.DRUGS.