"Inside the UK's Cheapest Town: Al Fresco Romances, Rowdy Locals, and Homes for Just £38k!"

WITH homes available to snap up for less than £50,000, it’s no surprise that house hunters flock from all over the country to get a slice of the action in Britain’s most affordable town.

But on the streets of Shildon, exasperated residents paint a different picture of its budget-friendly terraces – and say life here comes with a troubling catch.

Shildon has the cheapest property in the countryCredit: NNP Vandals have targeted homes and left residents terrified for their safetyCredit: NNP Susan Laing and Paul Martin say they have witnessed the decline of Shildon in their lifetimeCredit: NNP

Many houses and flats in the County Durham town have been bought by absentee landlords for rock bottom prices, then rented out to ex-prisoners and people on , locals claim.

The high street is awash with shops, nail salons and boarded up units, with locals telling us the town’s large B&M is the “best” thing about it – while some have even witnessed scenes of “shameless” alcoholics having sex just yards from their homes.

The properties, formerly owned by the “respectable working class”, have been left to “wrack and ruin” where once they were taken care of, they say, while the area is plagued by anti-social behaviour.

However, this has not deterred house hunters eager to snap up the cheap terraces and flats.

According to a new study by Zoopla, the average price of a property in Shildon is just £74,000, far below the typical UK asking price of £270,000, but many sell for less than £50,000.

On The Sun’s visit, the very first person we spoke to was a father from Belper, in , who moved up north precisely to buy a home in the cheapest part of the country.

Stephen Weightman, 64, who is a full-time dad to Zephrin, four, said: “I am from the Midlands, but I have bought a property here.

“I came back to the UK after living abroad for some years and I found I was priced out of my local area, a tourist town called Belper, which is famous for its mills, where prices are very high.

“I did some research, and I saw some low prices up here, so thought I would bite the bullet, sold some stocks and shares, and I bought my property for cash.

“Just over a year ago I spent £40,000. It’s a large two-bed terraced property. In Belper I would have been looking at £200,000, or even higher. Some new builds are £350,000.

“It needed a little bit of renovation, but it was still very good at that price.

“I have no complaints about the area. People seem OK to talk to.

“I know there are high levels, but I’ve not seen any evidence of it.

“I don’t come to the high street very often, I usually go to the park in Bishop Auckland.

“We are really close to Durham, which is a fantastic city. It’s not like we’re stuck here. There’s plenty in the surrounding area.”

Locals who have lived in the area their whole lives tell a story of neglect and decline, with one couple admitting they warn people not to come to Shildon.

It is a far cry from Shildon’s proud as the birthplace of the modern-day railway.

The town was central to the opening of the Stockton & Darlington Railway in 1825, when George Stephenson’s Locomotion No. 1 began its first journey carrying coal and passengers.

Forgotten pride

Locals who have lived in the area their whole lives tell a story of neglect Several residents have invested in home security measuresCredit: NNP

Shildon Railway Works was once a major employer, with 2,750 on its payroll, before it shut for good in 1984.

In the same decade, County Durham’s coal industry suffered a huge decline, and workers moved out of the area to find elsewhere.

Today, an estimated 53 per cent of the adult population are economically inactive, meaning they aren’t employed or looking for work.

Retired couple Susan Lang, 64, and Paul Martin, 71, were walking their grandchild to the local cemetery, where their relations are buried, when we spoke to them.

Susan, 64, a former school assistant, said: “It’s not the nicest of places, not anymore, and we are Shildon born and bred. There was a time, you’d come to this street, and you’d speak to everyone.

“Now, it’s gone down the nick. On one street close by, four or five windows are boarded up.

“People years ago had in those houses, and they would be taken care of. But now they’ve been bought up by landlords from out of the area, and left to go to wrack and ruin.

I don’t want to replace the window only for it to be smashed again

“They’re buying them up and them out to people who are also from out of town. They are absent landlords.

“It’s cheap rent, but the tenants will be on benefits.

“It’s not the place it used to be.

“They used to be lovely, terraced houses, but they’re not anymore. We’d leave but all our family are here. Our roots are here.”

Paul, 71, a former taxi driver, added: “It has changed a lot over the years. There are nice properties, but then the estate agents get them, and they are rented out to anybody.

“We had Shildon Works, that closed, and people moved away to Doncaster and York.

“That was the biggest employer in the town. My father and uncle worked there and we never thought it would shut.

“If your relations worked there, you were guaranteed a job if you passed a medical. It was a major blow to the town when it closed.”

‘White trash’ yobs

Residents claim that the town is an ‘unemployment blackspot’Credit: NNP A smashed window on one streetCredit: NNP

One elderly resident, who is too scared to be named, of the terraced street Susan speaks of tells us the situation is “utterly depressing”.

The man, who has no hot water or central heating in his home, said: “The houses used to be lived in by what I would call the respectable working class. Some of them were nasty people but they would not shame themselves in public.

“Now everything is al fresco. It’s white trash.

“I have had my window smashed and the have been incompetent.

“They treat the criminals as though they are victims.

“I have reported various cases in this street and nothing has been done. No one has been caught for any of these windows.

“I am not going to replace it. I’ve lost my dentist, I am going to have to go private, my are dropping to bits and I need my money. Also, I don’t want to replace the window only for it to be smashed again.

“To some extent it’s a nightmare.”

It’s an unemployment blackspot

Anonymous resident

The OAP added: “Next door, I’ve had two alcoholics, one after the other. One had just come out of from the south.

“There’s also an alcoholic who has sex with men in the back street, in all weather. I don’t know how she manages it in . It’s shameless behaviour.

“I am aware that Shildon is the cheapest place in the UK for property. It’s an unemployment blackspot.

“They destroyed the mines, along with the communities. Men lost their jobs.

“People pretend there is community but there isn’t. We have small communities, such as the methodists, they’re dying out now. It’s socially dead.

“People who don’t have a lot of money come here and this street is not unique.

“The landlords are sometimes just as bad as the tenants.

“I have no hot water and no central heating. That makes it very inconvenient. I have a gigantic tea urn, that’s what I have to use.

“My house suffers from dampness, and I can’t afford to fix it. I have dehumidifiers. You learn to live with it.”

‘Behind the times’

The town was once at the heart of the rail industryCredit: NNP Workers moved out of the area to find jobs elsewhere after local industries shut downCredit: NNP

Builder Jeff Stone is originally from and moved to County Durham in part due to low .

He now lives in nearby Newton Aycliffe, where property prices are also rock bottom, but had come to Shildon to visit B&M.

The 41-year-old said: “We knew it was cheap here, that’s probably why we moved up, as well as for work reasons.

“It’s a bit behind the times. Down south is more Americanised. It’s older up here, a bit stuck in the past, and you don’t get the big shops.

“But we were able to buy a house for £66,000. It has four bedrooms and two bathrooms. The same property in Somerset would have cost at least £250,000.

“We were renting in Somerset, and it was costing us £2,500 a month, for a three bed.

“There are problems up here. There is poverty, and kids haven’t got anything to do.

“There are no youth clubs, and the youngsters hang around on the streets.

“There are issues with crime and anti social behaviour.

“The best thing in Shildon is the B&M, that’s what we’ve come here for today.”

Home for £38k

Sarah rents out her house to family as she spends most of her time in Manila, the PhilippinesCredit: NNP Some residents have installed bars on their windowsCredit: NNP

Sarah MacDonald, 42, is a teacher who spends most of her time living in Manila, in the Philippines. She is originally from , but deliberately bought a property in Shildon because it is so cheap.

She said: “I only come back for and summer. The rest of the time my family live in my house.

“My friend bought a property here, and a house came up on the same street, so I got one as well.

“It was repossession, so it was £38,000. It’s a two-bed terrace, dating back to the 1900s. I got it for under asking price.

“There wasn’t lots of work to do, but it needed damp proofing, new radiators and we moved the gas boiler.

“I only bought it in May last year, and it’s a base for us in the UK, when we need it.

“I knew it was cheap here, but I didn’t realise it was the cheapest in the country. The North East in general is cheap.

“I do like the area. I wouldn’t want to live here full-time, there’s no secondary school, and I have kids but its got great links. There are trains to Darlington and from there to anywhere.”

‘At least we have a B&M’

Jade and Vicky Oyston say the schools nearby are good which makes up for other issuesCredit: NNP House hunters have flocked to the town thanks to its cheap property pricesCredit: NNP

Sisters Jade and Vicky Oyston, 25, both full-time mums, were pushing prams along the Shildon high street when they stopped to chat.

Jade said: “It’s all right. It’s not the worst. It is what it is. We’re close to family and the school is good.

“There’s not really a lot here, but at least we have a B&M.”

Ted Murphy, Durham County Council’s building safety and housing standards manager, said: “We know from community engagement that residents feel Shildon offers a good variety of housing at affordable prices, but we are also aware of some concerns regarding the private rental sector, particularly around absent landlords and long-term empty properties.

“We always try to engage with landlords to ensure properties are occupied and maintained to a high standard and have a dedicated team that proactively identifies the owners of long-term empty properties and works with them to bring these properties back into use.

“Shildon is included in our Selective Licensing scheme, which gives us powers to regulate landlords and make sure properties and tenancies are managed effectively.

“Where owners fail to engage with us, we will use the statutory powers we have available to us to carry out enforcement action.”

Durham Constabulary have been contacted for comment.

The town is home to the Locamotive museum in a nod to its pastCredit: Alamy