This documentary series reveals the reality of life on benefits, as the residents of one of Britain's most benefit-dependent streets invite cameras into their tight-knit community

Tony Hirst
Narrator

Video Providers
This week’s episode showed the disruption caused by Romanian arrivals. Fourteen Romanians living in one house started a metal collection business. They rooted through everyone else’s bin bags looking for scrap and left a mess the council refused to clean up. Emotions were running high and we saw Fungi abusing a Romanian woman. It made distressing viewing, especially since last week he was more loveable rogue than bigot. Contrary to what its critics allege, though, the programme does not present people as simple stereotypes.
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Viewers are introduced to the residents of James Turner Street in Birmingham, where there is a high proportion of benefit claimants. Residents are seen committing crimes, such as benefit fraud, cannabis cultivation and shoplifting, with the programme including a demonstration of how to steal designer clothes and remove the security tags. Shoplifter Danny is returned to prison after breaching an anti-social behaviour order that excluded him from the city centre, while Fungi, another resident takes free magazines from a hotel lobby and sells them on the streets for £2.50. Smoggy, a reformed ex-convict sells 50p sachets of sugar and washing powder to raise money for himself. The street's sense of community is highlighted too, as White Dee—styled as the "mother" of the street because everyone turns to her for advice—offers Black Dee advice when she is threatened with eviction, and attempts to help Fungi to overcome his drug habit.