A beautiful cathedral city in West Yorkshire has reportedly turned into a hive of “lawlessness”, with locals driven away by drug taking, aggressive begging and anti-social behaviour. While Wakefield has historically been renowned for its rich culture and architectural heritage, the once-serene city centre has allegedly become a “no-go area” for residents. Besides disincentivising visits from day-trippers keen to explore its 15th-century cathedral, this situation has made locals afraid to venture into certain areas, The Sun reports, with “only the bravest” holidaymakers daring to spend their breaks there.

A major issue has been the rise of drug addicts gathering on benches in central Wakefield “from dusk till dawn”, locals said, with criminals openly drinking alcohol, playing loud music and aggressively asking passersby for money. It was alleged that drug dealers were even using the city’s BT street hub – designed for emergency 999 calls – to facilitate handovers.

Local officials have pledged to increase police patrols in the city (Image: Getty)

“They are a scurge on this beautiful city,” one market holder said. “They turn up in the morning, when they are quite loud, then come back at midday.

“After taking their drugs, they have a bit of a siesta – a lull when they are out of it. Then they are back to being a proper nuisance around teatime.”

“They use the BT hub to order their deals – you can hear them asking for £50 bags or £30 deals,” the anonymous trader claimed.

“They are over there taking drugs everyday, and over here stealing our goods everyday. You can’t touch them,” Janet Murray, 64, who works in a bakery near the cathedral, added.

“They come in and blatantly help themselves to what they want, saying ‘I’m hungry’,” she added. “That is all you get out of them, and then they walk out without paying.”

Wakefield Cathedral has historically been a tourist draw for West Yorkshire (Image: Getty)

She also claimed: “There’s no point calling the police – they’re not going to do anything, not for a couple of packs of sandwiches. But when they are stealing everyday, all week, it adds up. And I’m working for my money.”

Wakefield Council and West Yorkshire Police joined forces to launch an anti-social behaviour task force in the city last month, which includes introducing more neighbourhood patrols and reviewing Public Space Protection Orders to give authorities more power over aggressive begging, substance misuse and anti-social behaviour.

Council leader Denise Jeffrey said: “More police on our streets has been a key ambition of our partnership work to tackle crime and anti-social behaviour.

“We’ll continue to use the full extent of the law when we need to, building on our track record in 2024-25 where we successfully applied for 32 criminal behaviour orders, had four Public Spaces Protection Orders in place and issued 164 fixed penalty notices for anti-social and nuisance behaviour.”

The Express has contacted Wakefield Metropolitan District Council and West Yorkshire Police for comment.