Neighbours remember the days when ‘everybody knew everybody’ – but they say things have since changed
A police cordon in place remained in place the morning after officers were called to reports of a stabbing(Image: Joseph Raynor/Reach PLC)
Residents in the shadow of a Nottingham park where a 16-year-old boy was stabbed say issues in the area “are out of control”.
People living near the Highbury Vale tram stop say they even avoid the area around a nearby basketball court because of constant anti-social behaviour.
Police were called to reports of a stabbing at a footpath near the tram stop, between Basford and Bulwell, at around 10.45pm on Tuesday (October 14).
A 16-year-old boy was taken to hospital with ‘several wounds’ and police have begun investigating the incident.
Neighbours living off the tram line on the residential Lauriston Drive rued the area’s decline – with some saying they purposely avoid the nearby park only a stone’s throw away.
“It’s gone out of control – it’s mayhem,” says 82-year-old Smokie Bass, who has lived on the street for three-and-a-half decades.
“It’s so overgrown round the park so of course it’s going to be dangerous – I don’t even take up my dog for a walk up there anymore”.
Mr Bass has often voluntarily cleaned up and cut down overgrown bushes in the park during his 36 years on the estate.
He said that while he is concerned about the ongoing issues, he believes they are caused by outside troublemakers rather than his decent neighbours.
“I know all my neighbours and we all get along – it’s the people getting off the tram and coming down here that are causing the problems,” he added.
Another resident on the street – a man in his 40s who asked not to be named – echoed these sentiments and said that his neighbours are “friendly” people.
“You can’t tar people round here with the same brush and most people are friendly and look after each other – that’s the type of area I’ve always known,” he said.
“There’s no deterrent against that kind of crime and that’s the problem”.
A huge chunk of a park near the tram stop was cordoned off by police(Image: Joseph Raynor/Reach PLC)
In June 2023, 32-year-old Kyle Knowles was fatally stabbed on a tram that stopped to a halt at the Highbury Vale tram stop, where emergency services arrived.
A man in his 20s was arrested at the scene on suspicion of murder, but was later found to be acting in self-defence to an unprovoked attack by Knowles, who boarded the tram with a knife.
“We don’t need another one – it makes me go cold and it’s given me a shiver,” says 80-year-old Mary, a longstanding Lauriston Drive resident.
“It’s the last thing you want to read on a Wednesday afternoon and the last thing we need,” she added.
A man in his 50s who has lived on the street for 16 years, added: “The park isn’t very well lit and I’m convinced half of the cameras don’t work over there.
“You hear people out there all night – you don’t bother seeing what they’re up to. I walk our dog down there and when I moved here, everybody knew everybody.
“But it’s getting worse – it certainly isn’t getting any better”.
The morning after the incident, police taped off a large section of the Highbury Basketball Court, with officers surrounding a cordon that remained in place until around 12pm.
Detective Sergeant Robert Palethorpe of Nottinghamshire Police said: “This investigation is in its early stages and officers remain at the scene.
“We would ask anyone who has any information or mobile phone footage about this incident to get in touch.”
Anyone with any information is asked to call 101, quoting incident number 759 of 14 October 2025, or contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
