One of the UK’s biggest cities has been plagued by a deadly gangland feud for 25 years but locals are refusing to be budged.
In Birmingham, the rivalry of two gangs has poisoned the city’s streets for decades.
The Johnson Crew and The Burger Bar Boys have been feuding for over 25 years, battling over turf wars across the city.
Their remorseless violence has left some locals fearing they may be caught in the crossfire.
The rivalry between the two gangs has recently featured in a new Channel 4 documentary 60 Days on the Estate.
It shows what life is like on some of Birmingham’s most notorious estates.
In the documentary, presenter Ed Stafford meets a man named Jason who he describes as “a bit of a livewire” but “plugged into the politics” of Birmingham’s estates.
In a whistlestop tour of the city, Jason described Lozells as the “border” between the two gangs.
BirminghamLive visited the area to find out what life was like for locals.
For an area that has been rocked by a spate of violent crime over the years, you'd perhaps expect the residents of Lozells to be itching to leave.
But locals here say Lozells is a tight-knit community, fighting to solve their own problems.
"From the outside you hear a lot of bad things about Lozells," says Carlos O'Garro, 66, a local streetsweeper known locally as the 'Man of Lozells'.
'"I'm not saying bad things don't happen here but there's a real community feel about the people here.
"There's a good mixture of people - everyone gets on well, I love it. You have good and bad in every area but this area always gets a bad reputation - but I don't see more trouble here than anywhere else."
Carlos has worked cleaning Lozells Road for the past 15 years. As we venture up and down the high street, he stops to chat to nearly every passerby.
"You've seen me talking to a lot of people, that's how it is down here," he says. "I know people talk about this gang and that gang but I'm here every day and I feel safe - I feel proud to work here."
However, locals here don't shy away from the problems, but some reckon the gangs aren’t really one of them.
A local shop worker - who did not wish to be named - said: "There's a lot of HMOs (house of multiple occupancy) here, a lot of people begging. The litter is a big problem too - and I don't think the council is doing anything to stop it.
"Gang wise there's not a problem anymore but drugs are still a big problem. I've grown up here all my life but in the past few years the area has gotten worse."
Shamsun Choudhury has lived in the area for 40 years.
After a shooting in July of last year, the mum-of-three said she feared for the safety of her kids, saying the area was “starting to feel like America with all these shootings and stabbings.”
But Shamsun, who works to empower women and migrant communities in the area, said despite the problems, she'd never thought of leaving.
"Lozells is great - I love living here," she said.
"My husband always wanted to move but I would miss what I have here. I've lived here for almost 40 years - my kids are raised here - I know my neighbours, I know everyone on my street, you're not going to get that anywhere else.
"There is crime here, of course, there was a stabbing the other day, but we move past it and we get on. One thing that annoys me is the litter - we say cleanliness is next to godliness, I'd like to see the area kept cleaner.
"There's a lot of HMOs here too. There's some negatives about Lozells but many more positives - I wouldn’t move."
