Our seaside village was stitched up as UK’s ‘biggest shanty town’ by sick TV show… social services came for our kids

IT was the shocking documentary that introduced Brits to the “closest happening this state has to a shanty town".

Now, 10 years on, residents of much-maligned Jaywick person slammed Channel 5 bid Benefits By The Sea for stitching them up and “almost destroying” their seaside home.

The north Essex village has acquired a notorious estimation implicit the years - erstwhile branded the astir deprived spot successful Britain, a ghetto wherever fractional of adults are retired of enactment and the mean income is conscionable £360 a week.

And walking astir the seaside enclave, which lies 2 miles down the seashore from Clacton-on-Sea, it is intelligibly inactive blighted by galore of the issues that gave it specified a atrocious estimation a decennary ago.

Letters are missing from the signage sitting atop immoderate of the much dilapidated businesses down the coastline, and we noticed feral youths riding astir connected bikes during schoolhouse hours, the whiff of marijuana hanging successful the aerial aft they passed. 

Nonetheless, with recently-elected section MP Nigel Farage promising to enactment the country “on the map” and a £126million translation program successful the pipeline, locals consciousness their luck is yet connected the turn.

That is contempt the grievances that linger a decennary connected astir documentary producers focusing connected jobless junkies and alcoholics surviving successful the once-thriving seaside resort.

Julie Coleman, 68, runs Julie’s Alterations covering work successful the Brooklands area, wherever galore of the programme’s astir disturbing scenes were filmed.

She said: “I deliberation the amusement astir destroyed Jaywick. A batch of it was truthful untrue.

“If they bash different documentary, they should spell to mean radical alternatively of targeting definite individuals astir here. It enactment america down.

“A batch of radical that travel present to sojourn inactive bring it up, astir it being Benefits By The Sea.

“We inactive person tourists coming to Jaywick, due to the fact that determination are things that bring them here.

“But it made america each look similar drunks and druggies and not everybody is similar that.”

In 2015, fractional of Jaywick’s 4,665 colonisation was unemployed – 5 times the nationalist average.

It was officially the astir deprived spot successful Britain, according to the indices of deprivation based connected factors similar poverty, crime, acquisition and accomplishment levels, unemployment and housing.

The mean play income was conscionable £360.

Since then, £5.3million has been invested to make the Sunspot gathering successful Brooklands, which features a fig of fashionable cafes on with a mobility scooter shop.

And successful September, Tendring District Council announced an ambitious £126million 20-year program to alteration Jaywick Sands Place.

But contempt the champion efforts of assemblage leaders and residents, problems remain.

Last year, two XL Bully dogs mauled a Jaywick grandma to death successful a vicious onslaught that sickened the nation.

Esther Martin, 68, was babysitting her grandson erstwhile the hounds - who belonged to her wannabe rapper son-in-law Ashley Warren - turned connected her arsenic she tried to shoo their six puppies with a broom.

Meanwhile, implicit the summertime families were forced into impermanent accommodation aft a suspected arson onslaught ravaged 10 properties successful the area.

'It feels near behind'

Aaron Taylor, 32, opened the section Sun Spa tanning salon successful May 2024, but helium worries that not capable is being done to halt the colony going to the dogs.

He said: "It's inactive a deprived area. I spot radical picking up cigaret butts from the level and you tin odor cannabis successful the aerial erstwhile you walk definite groups of people.

“It seems determination are inactive a batch of radical retired of enactment here.

“There's not overmuch enactment successful the greeting successful Jaywick, enactment it that way. We don't spot a psyche earlier 11am.

“I don't deliberation there's capable occupation opportunities for young radical here.

“There's bully and atrocious everyplace but unluckily we person much than our just stock of radical who are conscionable a nuisance, spraying graffiti and smashing up things.

“I opened my concern due to the fact that I thought determination was a spread successful the marketplace for a bully tanning salon, but it's been up and down to beryllium honest. It's bittersweet to accidental it, but Jaywick feels a spot near behind."

Julie, who wasn’t surviving successful the country erstwhile Benefits By The Sea aired, has a much hopeful imaginativeness for the future.

She adds: “We’ve been present 10 years and we emotion it. The assemblage is brilliant.

“We person nutrient banks and apparel banks and each sorts of functions passim the year. We’ve had nary problems whatsoever.”

Turning point

Builder and plumber Danny Sloggett appeared successful each 13 episodes of Benefits by the Sea, which archetypal aired successful July 2015.

He said: “I deliberation the amusement was bully and atrocious for Jaywick. It showed that we’re each connected benefits adjacent though we’re not.

“I enactment and person paid taxes each my beingness and truthful bash galore of my friends.

“They should person travel to spot the radical that enactment and ain their ain houses and businesses and it’s bittersweet they didn’t bash that.

“There’s a large stigma astir Jaywick. I utilized to get called ‘Jaywick Scum’ erstwhile I was astatine secondary schoolhouse and young radical archer maine that inactive happens today.

“The biggest happening that went incorrect was erstwhile the Butlin’s vacation campy fractional a mile distant closed down successful the mid-1980s.

“That was the nail successful our coffin arsenic we mislaid 1 cardinal tourists a year.

“That truly affected america due to the fact that families utilized to spell connected vacation to Butlin’s past rent chalets successful Jaywick and that provided a batch of work.

“There were nightclubs and creation halls present and determination were amusement arcades and tons of pubs.

“But erstwhile Butlin’s shut, each that went and it’s been truly hard for Jaywick arsenic a assemblage to radiance connected erstwhile the main income is taken away.”

Danny lone agreed to spell connected the 2nd bid of the Channel 5 documentary aft producers agreed to assistance him unfastened a assemblage group.

His Jaywick Sands Happy Club present meets each Thursday.

He said: “I’m precise arrogant of that due to the fact that we sermon each the problems that request fixing, similar the potholes and the information determination are nary streetlights and radical don’t consciousness harmless walking around.

“There is simply a batch of alert tipping going on, radical conscionable dump their rubbish connected the seawall, which is not a bully advertisement for a vacation resort.

“I deliberation Jaywick has got a batch amended successful the past 10 years.

“I privation to amusement the full satellite that Jaywick is not scum – we person a Caribbean formation and this is the Costa-del-Jaywick and it’s truthful beautiful.

“I deliberation it’s the Monte Carlo of England. We should physique a bully marina present - the Beckhams would emotion it.

“But determination are inactive potholes successful Brooklands and the autobus work won’t spell there.

“We request to springiness much opportunities to young radical and judge successful them.

“I went to situation 8 times due to the fact that my mum died and I felt the satellite was against me, truthful by the clip I got to 18, I was successful prison.

“Then I went to enactment for my dada arsenic a builder and that changed my beingness – and that’s wherefore I privation to assistance young people.

“I consciousness radical look down connected Jaywick, but we request to extremity the stigma.”

'I looked similar an a**ehole'

A location successful the country tin inactive beryllium snapped up for arsenic small arsenic £50,000 and the village's caravan and camping sites stay popular. 

Yet the neat enactment of bungalows lining the still-magnificent formation are a reminder of Jaywick's autumn from grace, blighted arsenic they are by a burned-out gathering and a fewer beforehand gardens filled with junk. 

Mum-of-five Claire Fitzpatrick, 39, besides featured connected the world amusement and is upset astatine however she was portrayed.

While picking up pastries astatine the Rainy Bakes store, she said: “They made maine look similar a close a**ehole.

“They made america motion stuff, didn’t nonstop america a transcript earlier they edited it and past they enactment it out.

“Social services were called to my location afterwards. I had 3 kids backmost then.

“They said I earned up to £29,000 a twelvemonth successful benefits. I was like, what?

“They made it look similar due to the fact that I was connected benefits, I was the biggest scum successful the world.

“The lone crushed I did the amusement was due to the fact that I had conscionable moved to London and I wanted to help. I’m excessively kind.

“People travel present and look astatine Jaywick similar it’s a s***hole, but it’s not.

“When my location burned down recently, the assemblage came unneurotic wrong hours of it happening and I deliberation this is simply a large spot to live.

“Yes we person transgression – and determination person been a batch of break-ins astatine the campsite precocious – but you person transgression everywhere.”

Wake-up call

Independent councillor Dan Casey believes Benefits by the Sea was a wake-up telephone for governmental leaders.

And helium has been heartened by the information that Jaywick, which is portion of the constituency that elected Reform person Farage to Parliament past year, is nary longer the astir deprived spot successful Britain.

He said: “I deliberation the amusement was an awakening for Jaywick. It made radical deliberation and things happened.

“We got the roads done aft that. We’ve had much lodging and the marvellous Sunspot built.

“People inactive tally america down and I don’t cognize why.

“At the extremity of the day, we are not astatine the bottommost now. We are astir 15th, truthful we’ve travel up a small spot and we indispensable beryllium doing thing right.

“We’ve got precocious unemployment down present and a batch of retired radical and radical with aesculapian issues. Unemployment is conscionable implicit 50 per cent now.

“The main happening is the deficiency of investment, but we’ve had rather a spot of concern down present now. I ever say, spot it arsenic it is, not arsenic however it was.”