A HIDDEN millionaire’s paradise home to celebs with flashy cars on every drive has been revealed behind a notorious estate.
Stockwell’s wealthiest live just a row of houses away from some of the roughest estates along Stockwell Road, south London.
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British acting legends Joanna Lumley and Toby Jones both call the area home.
And those on both sides of the rich and poor divide have told how it feels to rub shoulders.
Stephanie Da Costa, 41, mum to a terrified 16-year-old boy, told how her son won’t leave their house for fear of gangs.
Stephanie drives a prized Bentley – worth about £200,000 – but she says she’s forced to park it three miles away in Streatham to keep it safe.
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She told The Sun: “Cars get broken into all the time. It’s really bad. The area’s getting bad.
“The other day there were a bunch of kids running away from other kids that had knives. They break into cars and damage them. I’ve lived here for four years and it’s just getting worse.
“I have a Bentley. I put a camera in my window to keep an eye on it. If I can’t get parking outside I’ll park it in Streatham. I can’t leave it on any of the side streets here because it’s not safe. My husband’s motorcycle was stolen.
“My son won’t go to birthday parties after a kid was killed across the street. He’s too scared to see his friends. He’s going to be 16 and he won’t even go to the corner shop on his own.”
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REGULAR MUGGINGS
Another wealthy resident, who grew up in a £3.5million home on affluent Stockwell Park Crescent, told how he was mugged so much as a teenager he never owned an expensive phone.
Joss Laughton-Scott, 27, said: “As a teenager on the way from the station there were routes we had to avoid. We walked through a council estate and people would wait at the bus stop, see you turn down this road and make a quick run and cut you off. It was iffy and something we had to think about. I never had a nice phone because it was pointless.
“That was always on our mind, you’d have to spot signs something was about to happen. Someone would cross the road directly towards you.”
He revealed the smart-fronted family home, boasting a covered sports car on the drive, has only suffered one break-in – after his mum left a laptop by the window.
Joss added: “We’ve only ever had one attempted break in which has been surprising considering where we are. There has always been street crime, but it is getting better.
“Vauxhall’s up and coming and we get a halo affect from that now. I wouldn’t describe Stockwell now as unsafe but growing up that was definitely the case. Growing up aged 10 I told my mum I didn’t want to go home because there was a spate of shootings while we were on holiday. It was all gang related.”
Meanwhile, Lily Foster, 27, has lived in her home on the wealthy side for just four days.
She revealed she’s already witnessed a man urinating in the street.
“Someone was on the corner yesterday weeing in a garden and I made him jump,” she said.
“He turned around and weed on me, so that was my experience last night. I literally moved in four days ago.”
ESTATE LIFE
On the other side of the wealth divide, hard-working residents told how they mostly have no problems with their richer neighbours – except when they dump their rubbish in the estate’s bins.
Mehmet Jemal, 62, said: “When I look at all the lovely fancy houses opposite my flat it looks good, they have lots of work done to it, these are people who can afford to buy their place, unfortunately I can’t.
“This is a nice area that has been run down, it’s coming up. There’s nothing wrong with bringing money in.
“I don’t like it when they come over here and dump their rubbish in our bins. That’s for us, the estate. That’s my only issue. They do tend to take the mickey a little bit.”
He added that he concentrates on his life, getting up, going to work and making sure his bills are paid.
“We’ve always seen this over the years. I just get up, go to work and pay my bills. I don’t have any issues with them. I’ve lived around here for 20 years. I noticed more wealth over the years walking down the street.
“There were more well to do people buying up the properties. Walking around you notice more well educated people – who weren’t born or brought up around here. It changed within the last ten years.”
Ahmed Mania, 52, said: We’ve been living here 21 years. We’re struggling with rising rents and food prices. I’m a supervisor. It’s hard to see people struggling while others are living in luxury. Everything’s so expensive now.”
It’s very different from where we live here. There are stark differences just roads away
Sarah Swanson
Retired Colin Jackson, 71, noted an increase in the number of Teslas in the surrounding wealthy neighbourhood.
He added: “I’ve lived here all my life. It’s always had a rich part. They’ve been renovating the basements more recently. There’s loads of Teslas over there and I begrudge them that.
“I’m in a three-bed flat. It was my mums and I got it when she passed away. We’re happy there. It’s worth £400,000.
“With the cost of living we definitely have to be careful with our finances. I’m on the pension and my wife only has a few hours working on the London Underground. It’s slightly strange having the rich live so closely to this area because it is so run down.
“It’s been like that in my lifetime, the rich have always been around the corner. It’s the cars. You’ve got Range Rovers, Teslas, there’s even Bentleys round there. They’re nice people, we chat to them. They’re just like us but minted.”
Lee Barr, 53, added that he sees the larger houses as inspirational and plots out which he’d snap up if he won a jackpot in the lottery.
He said: “I can see them and we walk through there but it’s not us. It’s aspirational to see the huge houses.
“We think about buying a lottery ticket and where we’d live if we won. There’s a gorgeous square hedged tree that’s wrapped in lights every Christmas. It’s nice. But you don’t see the cars you’d expect.
“You see Mercs and Beamers but no Ferraris. You might see a Range Rover. I wonder are they scared because Brixton is just down the road.
“The cost of living crisis has been an interesting change. My mortgage went up a lot, everyone’s did. We’re struggling while I can go down there and see lovely houses.”
Sarah Swanson, 28, added that there was a “stark difference” between her home on an estate and the million-pound homes next door.
She said: “It’s very different from where we live here. There are stark differences just roads away.
“It’s always been very different from place to place. Relative poverty is real. I do feel sometimes like there are nicer cars on the estate than out there. But you see a lot of gentrification, it’s getting more prevalent.
“Everything is so expensive now. You do get used to the wealth though, it’s the way things are.
“I’m not bitter towards it, it’s more a way to aspire to be. Although it’s not easy to get there. If you don’t have generational wealth it’s really hard to buy a house.”
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It comes after residents making just £800 a month on Universal Credit revealed they’re living next door to super-rich neighbours.
And residents of a divided town told how they’re suffering as the hidden poor.
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