'We don't feel safe,' say residents after fatal stabbing of 19-year-old University of Northampton student

‘We don’t feel safe’, say residents after a 19-year-old University of Northampton (UoN) student was fatally stabbed in the street next to them.

Homeowners in Malthouse Close, Far Cotton say they are living in fear after a young man was killed in the neighbouring New South Bridge Road at 8.40pm on Sunday night (April 23). Despite the best efforts of paramedics, the teenager sadly died at the scene.

Speaking to Chron and Echo, the residents, who wish to remain anonymous, said: “It’s a sad event. It’s not what you expect on your doorstep. We were all taped off. We were basically all on lockdown.

"We were here at the time he was fatally stabbed. It was 20 minutes before we went to bed, we never heard a thing. It’s just a sad state of affairs that another young life has been taken by knife crime.”

The residents, who have lived on the street for 17 years, went on to say that they have not ‘felt safe’ ever since the university opened in 2018.

They said: "We don’t feel safe. Ever since that university went up it’s been one thing after another. There are a lot of drugs being bandied around this way – they think we’re stupid. They come into Malthouse Close in their cars and you see them passing drugs on.

"When I see the drug dealing I just don’t get involved in it. I value my life and my home. I just mind my own business. They come down here because there’s no CCTV and they can’t be seen from the main road.

"We never had all this before that university went up, it was quite a nice area to live in. You talk to anyone down here, especially those with children, you just don’t feel safe now.”

Here's everything we know so far about the fatal stabbing of a 19-year-old boy in Northampton

The residents have called on the university and police to find ways of deterring crime.

They said: “The university has stopped all the residential meetings it used to have, they need to start them up again.

"We’d like more of a police presence around here, especially at weekends and at night time. We used to have a police presence when everything kicked off before but we don’t ever see a copper now.”

A Northamptonshire Police spokeswoman, said: “Understandably, the murder of this young man has caused concern in the local community and neighbourhood police officers have been on patrol in the area since the incident to offer reassurance.

“The university have its own police team which consists of one sergeant and five constables and the team work with university security and local neighbourhood officers to tackle any crime that happens in and around the university.

“We would encourage anyone in the local area who witnesses a crime to please contact us on 101 or alternatively call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 55511. Community intelligence is vital in helping us build up a bigger picture of the issues facing a particular area and we will always act on local resident’s concerns.

“Extra patrols will continue to take place in the New South Bridge Road area over the coming days to provide reassurance. Anyone with any concerns is more than welcome to approach one of these officers who will be happy to help.”

A UoN spokeswoman said: “We share the heightened concern for safety and a feeling of shock and anger after this senseless crime on Sunday. We will keep this at the heart of our work with our neighbours and place the highest priority on safety and welfare.

“We continue to encourage local residents to report any incidents with our Campus Security Team so that we can act accordingly, and have provided local residents with a dedicated email address to raise any ongoing concerns.

“UoN was the first Higher Education Institution to introduce a funded policing team on campus when we opened Waterside in 2018, and this relationship has been invaluable in bringing about swift action following the tragic events of last weekend. We will be working closely with local partners and members of the community to explore reinstating resident meetings on campus, so that we can provide reassurance and exchange of information.”

Independent councillor Julie Davenport (Delapre and Rushmere ward) said: “When the university first opened there were so many problems because there was no thought prior to the opening of the negative impact there would be to the surrounding areas.

"I did work with residents, the university, the university police and the student union to try to alleviate issues but it appears there are still matters that need more work such as drugs/dealing in the area which is a great concern.

"I would suggest regular meetings with residents again to deal with such serious concerns and for the university to help Malthouse Close with the installation of CCTV to protect their residents. I would be interested to know what the Uni are doing to tackle this issue of drugs in the area.”

Four people – two men aged 19, one man aged 18 and one woman aged 18 – were arrested in connection with the incident. All remain in police custody.