In rat-infested Thanington, a vote for the EU meant a vote for the status quo – and why would anyone want that?

In the second in his series examining Britain in the age of Brexit, Patrick Cockburn meets residents in a Canterbury suburb who feel under siege

Some residents in Canterbury’s deprived outskirts are living on a prayer (Getty/iStock)

Thanington is a deprived district on the outskirts of Canterbury which used to be called “Little Beirut” because of its high levels of crime and violence.

Caroline Heggie, a local resident, says: “When I moved in in 1998, half the houses [in my street] were empty. Out of 40 houses, 20 were empty because of antisocial behaviour. I moved into my house which had a broken window where a crossbow bolt had been fired.”

Di Hutchinson, a teacher’s assistant who has lived in Thanington for 59 years, agrees with her, saying: “We had a terrible reputation.”