Woman attacked in Yardley underpass has it sealed off

Beth Farrington (left) was able to get the underpass closed with the support of her MP, Jess Phillips, and Birmingham City Council, represented by councillor, Waseem Zaffar

A woman who was sexually assaulted in a pedestrian underpass has successfully campaigned to have it closed.

Beth Farrington, 20, who waived her right to anonymity to tell her story, said she wanted to "take away a place where a perpetrator can commit crimes".

She was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder after the attack on Coventry Road in the Yardley area of Birmingham in August 2020.

The underpass is set to be gated at both ends in the summer.

Ms Farrington decided to use the subway near Lily Road and Preston Road while walking home after getting dropped off by a colleague.

She told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: "As I was walking down, there was a man lurking around the bottom.

"I thought maybe he was waiting for his friend and just carried on walking down. I did not think much of it."

But he then turned, Ms Farrington explained, saying: "He started running towards me and sexually assaulted me. He grabbed me on the breast and ran away."

At first she said she was shocked and thought she might have been stabbed, but then decided to give chase.

She was not able to catch him and although she reported the attack to police, the West Midlands force said: "There were limited lines of inquiry to follow and no suspect was identified at the time."

But it added: "No case is ever closed and we'll act on any fresh information we receive."

Once the underpass is closed, signs will direct pedestrians to a pelican crossing 90m away

Ms Farrington decided to campaign for the closure of the underpass, which she said was a place where people "clearly do drugs", adding "it smells and it's not safe".

Jess Phillips, Birmingham MP and the shadow minister for domestic violence and safeguarding, agreed to help, with the pair able to get the underpass closed as part of Birmingham City Council improvement works.

The Labour member for Yardley said: "It is very welcome to see the council listen to and deliver for local people."