An alleyway near one of London’s most affluent neighbourhoods has turned into a nightmarish den of drug addiction, gang violence and prostitution.
People living alongside Billy Fury Way say they are so terrified of the cut-through that some have begun arming themselves with hammers to protect themselves.
The narrow 900-yard footpath runs between £1.5million homes in West Hampstead, but these hide a terrifying no-go alley of drugs, needles, excrement and fear.
Billy Fury Way also has a violent past after an 18-year-old was left with life-threatening injuries in 2018 after being attacked during a dispute with another boy.
Michael Onabanjo needed lifesaving surgery and 52 stitches after being attacked in a ‘bin store’ backing onto Billy Fury Way, before attempting to crawl to safety.
Residents now warn that another disaster is waiting to happen on the alley, which is strewn with used condoms, rubbish, discarded drug needles and human waste.
The footpath is concealed by overhanging shrubbery and runs between railway tracks, schools and the homes of vulnerable residents.
Conditions have worsened further since all 23 streetlights along Billy Fury Way went out last October due to a power cable fault, plunging the route into darkness.
The road is named after Sixties popstar Billy Fury who recorded many hits in the former Decca Records studios around the corner on Broadhurst Gardens.
It is located in West Hampstead and the neighbouring Hampstead, which are among London’s most exclusive enclaves – with residents including Jim Carter and Imelda Staunton, Emma Thompson and Greg Wise, Dua Lipa and Harry Styles.
Billy Fury Way in West Hampstead, North West London, has become a terrifying no-go alley
The alley is strewn with used condoms, rubbish, discarded drug needles and human waste
The narrow 900-yard footpath runs between £1.5million homes in London’s West Hampstead
Resident Zoe Kemp, who has lived in the area for 20 years, said she now lives in constant fear and refuses to walk down the alley without carrying a hammer.
She added: ‘I’m constantly saying to young women, don’t go this way. I see people every day smoking crack. I sleep with a hammer now.
‘It’s so dark that people drive from all over the borough to fly-tip here.’
Sharon Henry has lived with her two children since 2017 in a ground-floor flat backing directly onto Billy Fury Way.
She said: ‘When you walk there you see needles all over the floor and plastic bags full of drug residue.’
Ms Henry recalled a harrowing incident last summer when she heard screaming coming from the alley.
‘Somebody was screaming like it was almost like a death scream and someone shouted for help, going: “Help, help someone’s dying someone dying”,’ she said.
Ms Henry explained how she and two neighbours hesitated before intervening, unsure whether it was safe, but feared someone urgently needed help.
‘Me and two other neighbours were a bit nervous to even go out but we thought someone might need emergency help,’ she said.
Conditions have worsened further since all 23 streetlights along Billy Fury Way went out
The alleyway is now a nightmarish den of drug addiction, gang violence and prostitution
Locals fear a disaster is waiting to happen on the alley which is being taken over by drug users
A man was later found on the ground outside her home, which Ms Henry believes was a suspected drug overdose. ‘He was not in a good way,’ she said.
Residents said the problems do not stop at the alleyway itself but spill into neighbouring homes.
Ms Henry said intruders break into her apartment block using fire door keys, steal packages and take drugs inside the building.
‘One man broke in and started threatening me… and then he wouldn’t leave. He wouldn’t leave and he was very adamant that he wasn’t leaving, they break in with fire door keys,’ she said.
Ms Henry warned that many people use the alley as a shortcut without realising how dangerous it is.
‘A lot of people take this shortcut but they are actually really unaware that walking down the path has potentially fatal consequences,’ she said.
‘The paving is not straight… so if you trip over you might accidentally fall into a needle.’
Janet Grauberg, a Liberal Democrat councillor for West Hampstead, said she has been pushing for action since the summer of 2024.
‘There shouldn’t be ‘no-go’ areas in our city, I’ll keep fighting to make this area safe for everyone,’ she said.
A mural of Halfway To Paradise star Fury was unveiled in 2018 as part of efforts to clean up the area, but it was repeatedly defaced and eventually removed.
The footpath runs between railway tracks, schools and the homes of vulnerable residents
Homes near the alley hide a terrifying no-go alley of drugs, needles, excrement and fear
Ms Kemp said she is regularly threatened by drug users when she uses the path and feels increasingly isolated.
‘The path should connect us to West Hampstead. Instead, it cuts us off,’ she said.
Requests to cut back the overhanging shrubbery that conceals drug use, and to carry out basic clean-up works, have not been addressed.
With the lights still out, residents say their fear has only intensified.
‘We just haven’t given any information about when the lights will turn on, we have just been forgotten and left in darkness,’ Ms Henry said.
Turning the lights back on may not be a quick fix.
Scaffolding is blocking access to the power source, which comes from a UK Power Networks feeder pillar on Finchley Road, meaning engineers cannot dig beside it.
A Camden Council spokesperson said: ‘We recognise that the streetlamps on Billy Fury Way have been affected by a power fault and want to assure residents that we are working to rectify this.
‘This is caused by a power fault to a pillar located on Finchley Road, which is managed by Transport for London.
‘We have asked Transport for London to fix this issue, and in the meantime, we are working on installing solar lights as a temporary solution.’
A Transport for London spokesperson said: ‘TfL would typically only request removal if the scaffolding didn’t comply with the agreed permit, which isn’t the case here.’
