John was driving on the highway with his wife, Sarah, when the engine stalled. The car lost power. All he could do was pull over to safety, onto the hard lane, before the car stalled.
But even more frightening than his ordeal on the highway was what he discovered next. Someone had deliberately filled his gas tank with water, endangering his family. “We didn’t feel like we were in a safe environment,” John said. “You just ask yourself, what if our son had been in the car? What if we hadn’t been able to pull over to the side of the highway?”
And it wasn’t the first time Sarah and John have claimed their cars have been the target of vandalism and criminal damage. They estimate they have had to pay out £5,000 in repairs to the vehicles in the past year and a half. (The car, which had filled the tank with water, was deemed ‘lost’ but the replacement vehicle was fortunately covered by insurance.)
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“They were scratched, the tires were slashed twice with a knife,” he said.
John and his family, whose names have been changed for their safety, believe they were targeted by a group in their neighborhood because of their skin color.
John said: “Only black cars are being targeted. It’s just us and one other guy in the area. It’s obvious they don’t want us here.”
The family moved to a new home in Waterhead three years ago after moving from an overcrowded house where they had lived with John’s parents. “We’re just trying to start a family,” he said. But the 33-year-old, who is training to be a mental health nurse, said the problems started almost immediately after they moved in.
John said the harassment came in many forms: doors and gates being blocked with bins, punctured tyres, the water tank being filled and being ‘parked’ by other cars so he could not go to work or university, and causing serious parking disputes between neighbours. John also said he had to endure racist abuse towards him and his seven-year-old son.
“[My son] He was playing outside and someone came up and cried, ‘It looks like poop.’ And even though I wanted him to stay home, [to protect him] “He is a child and he wants to interact with other children,” John explained.
“It happens at school and it happens at home while playing. We’ve tried talking to their teachers. What kind of foundation does this set for the child’s future mindset?”
The abuse took a toll on the family, with Sarah having to take time off work as a nurse because of the stress and anxiety the situation caused her.
And John said, “I’m exhausted. I have no energy. We’re constantly looking out the window to see if anything’s happening.”
In order to escape the situation, the family applied to the municipality to move to another house. Their application was rejected.
A council spokesman told the MEN it had a ‘strong allocation policy’ with ‘urgent priority’ given to households with ‘an exceptional need to move, including racial hatred or harassment’. But a rejection letter sent to the family claimed John’s reported ‘anti-social behaviour’ was ‘not recognised as a housing need’ and advised them to contact the police and housing association instead.
A council spokesman said: “Firstly, I want to make it clear that no one should be the victim of any hate crime or harassment. Oldhamers are better than this. Anyone who is the victim of a hate crime should report it to the police.
“Demand for social housing in Oldham vastly exceeds supply and the council often has to make difficult decisions to ensure homes are offered to those most in need, but the reality is that many people are currently frustrated by the lack of social housing as a result of 14 years of underinvestment in social housing.”
The spokesman also said officers were currently ‘looking into’ the case but the family claimed they had had no correspondence with the council about the property since they were refused.
Despite reporting several incidents to the police and housing association, John feels he has received no help. The police recently advised the family to install a camera to ‘collect evidence’ of the behaviour.
But John says someone cut the wires the first night.
According to John, although several neighbours had street-facing cameras, no one was willing to share the footage with the family, so it was not possible to hand it over to the police.
Asked if the police had been helpful, John said: “None at all. I think they’ve only been here once in three years.” GMP has been contacted for comment.
Meanwhile, John claims his landlord, First Choice Homes Oldham (FCHO), also made the family feel as if they were fighting a losing battle – but the housing association says they were doing everything they could ‘to address the family’s concerns’.
“When [First Choice Home officers] to come, [Sarah] “She was crying and she was torn apart,” John said. “And they showed no emotion — telling us they weren’t going to help us.”
In a letter sent by First Choice Homes and seen by the Local Democracy Reporting Service, the family were told their complaint was ‘not upheld’ because they had ‘no evidence as to who the perpetrators of the vandalism were’. They added that parking issues were ‘difficult to manage’ because as a housing association they ‘are unable to enforce’ any parking arrangements on the street.
“I don’t know what to do,” John said. “We’re living in a clearly hostile environment. We show them pictures, we report things to the police, we do everything – and they tell us there’s no evidence and there’s nothing they can do.”
A spokesperson for FCHO claimed the allegations were taken ‘very seriously’ and that all customers ‘should feel safe in their homes’.
“We have thoroughly investigated all of the issues raised by our client. We are also aware of the concerns raised by neighbours against the complainant and have investigated these as well. Allegations from both parties are subject to ongoing investigations.
“Our teams have met with the customer on numerous occasions and we are doing everything we can to address the family’s concerns.
“We work with our partners on issues that are outside our remit and beyond our enforcement powers. We liaise with Greater Manchester Police on allegations of racist abuse and vandalism. We also work with Oldham Council on issues that fall within their remit, such as parking and relocation.
“We advised the family on the various housing options available to them. They did not apply to the council for resettlement until our team advised them that this was one of the options. Due to the significant shortage of available housing and to be fair to all applicants, only cases that meet the exceptional criteria can be considered for a ‘management move’ to another FCHO property.
“We are committed to providing ongoing support and will continue to do everything we can to ensure the client feels safe and supported in their home.”
But John feels the issue is not being taken seriously enough.
“There’s just the fact that this hasn’t happened to anyone else in the area. If it had happened to anyone else, it would have been dealt with,” he claimed.
“Since that day [on the motorway]”We felt like we would never be comfortable in our own home again.”