Fri. Dec 27th, 2024
Occasional Digest - a story for you

RESIDENTS are fuming after a major supermarket axed deliveries to one side of a street – but not the other.

Carden Avenue in Leeds was blacklisted by Asda over fears for drivers’ safety from anti-social yobs.

Amazon delivery drivers told us they had been ordered to work in pairs for their own safety

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Amazon delivery drivers told us they had been ordered to work in pairs for their own safetyCredit: Glen Minikin
Mum-of-four Kelly Smith can't get Asda deliveries

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Mum-of-four Kelly Smith can’t get Asda deliveriesCredit: Glen Minikin
But her neighbour Katie Rabbeth says the area isn't a war zone

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But her neighbour Katie Rabbeth says the area isn’t a war zoneCredit: Glen Minikin
Carden Avenue in Leeds was blacklisted by Asda

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Carden Avenue in Leeds was blacklisted by AsdaCredit: Glen Minikin
We saw Royal Mail postmen delivering in unmarked vans

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We saw Royal Mail postmen delivering in unmarked vansCredit: Glen Minikin

But while locals on the “no-go” side of the suburban road have been left scrambling for alternatives – neighbours opposite continue to receive their shopping as usual.

The supermarket snub has led to anger – and jealousy – from those on the excluded side of the road.

Mum-of-four Kelly Smith, 37, slammed supermarkets for labelling her road “dangerous”.

She added: “Someone needs to tell Asda that crime doesn’t stop halfway across the road.

“How is it fair that the other side gets their shopping delivered, and this side doesn’t?

“I’ve had to go elsewhere – Tesco, Sainsbury’s – which is annoying, because I prefer Asda food.

“I don’t even think it’s that dangerous. They were kids on bikes causing a trouble a few months ago but that’s all calmed down.”

She revealed the postman and Amazon still delivered to her home.

“If it was that bad, they would have stopped coming,” she said.

“You don’t see police down here very often, so how dangerous do they think it is?

“There’s a lot of people down here who use Asda. It’s really frustrating.

“I don’t see why they can deliver it to the other side of the road, when it’s the same street.”

Asda shoppers in Carden Avenue were left perplexed in the summer when they tried to check out online, only to be be repeatedly informed that delivery slots had sold out.

It has now transpired that the slots were unavailable because Asda had blacklisted the Leeds postcode which covers one half of the street.

But customers opposite – who have a slightly different postcode – are still able to checkout on the web.

Leanne Baker, 35, chuckled as she told Sun Online: “I can get deliveries with no problems every week but my friend over the road can’t.

“It makes no sense, because she’s literally on the other side of the same road.

“I think it’s because of the risk of their vans getting robbed.

“But I can’t see what difference it makes being on this side of the road.”

Long-time Asda shopper Sharon Dean, 53, pleaded with supermarket bosses to reverse the ban, having switched to Tesco. 

She said: “I haven’t been able to get a delivery for months. I’ve been a customer for about six years.

“Then all of a sudden, I’d go to check out and it would say all the delivery slots had sold out.

“I contacted Asda and they said they had stopped deliveries to the street and that it was down to driver safety.

“Yet they still deliver to the houses directly opposite us, and the houses and bungalows behind. It makes no sense.

“I saw two van making deliveries yesterday and it really does p*** me off. 

“It’s not like I only spend £30 a week – I spend about £150 with them. 

“I rang customer services three times but I didn’t hear back so, in the end, I just sacked them off.

“I tried Morrison’s but I wasn’t that keen. Tesco is a little bit more expensive but at least I can get a delivery.” 

Carden Avenue, in the Halton area of the city, has been beset with crime.

The street was named in 2021 as one of Leeds’ worst for anti-social behaviour.

Last year, a man was stabbed and left seriously injured in a daylight street robbery.

The 21-year-old victim was approached from behind by two balaclava-clad males on an e-scooter.

When Sun Online visited Carden Avenue, we saw Royal Mail postmen delivering in unmarked vans, so to remain discreet.

While Amazon delivery drivers told us they had been ordered to work in pairs for their own safety.

Grandma-of-six Patricia Roberts, 60, said she was not surprised by Asda’s decision.

She said: “It’s not great around here. There have been delivery vans robbed or pelted with rocks.

“I think the postmen do the bare minimum rounds to reduce the danger. They wait until there’s a big pile and deliver it all at once.

“But that doesn’t help when you’ve got important letters, like for hospital appointments.

“The Amazon delivery drivers work in pairs from unmarked vans – one stays in the car while the other goes to the door.

“It’s mad but you need protection just to deliver parcels around here.

“The kids will rob them, then sell what they’ve taken. They’re only aged between 13 and 17 but they’re lunatics.”

But Katie Rabbeth, 35, insisted the area was not a “war zone” and called on Asda to see sense.

Katie, who has lived in Carden Avenue for nine years, said: “The area is alright.

“I’ve never seen any issues with delivery drivers being attacked or anything like that.

“You get kids running around and teenagers out on the street, but it’s not like being in the middle of a war zone.

“I don’t think there’s very much trouble around here. Asda needs to have a rethink. People rely on them for their shopping.”

Asda said: “When we are made aware of repeated incidents of anti-social behaviour or abuse towards our home shopping colleagues, we may temporarily suspend deliveries to certain addresses.

“This is something that we keep under review to ensure our colleagues safety.

“We would like to thank our customers for their understanding.”

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