All quiet on estate, two years after vigilante murder

Mr Ebrahimi was attacked on grass outside his home by a neighbour, Lee James

After a police officer and a community support officer were convicted of misconduct in a public office over their response to a disabled man's calls for help, what is life like on the Bristol estate where he was beaten to death, two years on?

It's quiet on Capgrave Crescent in Brislington, Bristol when I visit on a wet November morning.

The flat where Bijan Ebrahimi lived has another tenant now and there is nothing to indicate it was the scene of an horrific crime in July 2013.

Iranian-born Mr Ebrahimi was hounded by a mob who gathered outside his ground-floor council flat, chanting abuse, after wrongly branding him as a paedophile.

But police called to the scene arrested him instead, while the mob cheered. Days later, he was beaten to death and set alight by a neighbour, Lee James.

Mr Ebrahimi's family say he had been the victim of racism and he had been "let down" by the police for years.

Two years on and workmen hoist scaffolding on the three blocks of flats which flank the small green space where Mr Ebrahimi was attacked.

There's no sign of the residents when I visit. Many do not answer the door when I knock.

'Up to no good'

Those that do, do not wish to be interviewed on camera. Two women tell me Capgrave Crescent is "a friendly place" and what happened to Mr Ebrahimi "could happen anywhere".

But others paint a picture of anti-social behaviour and drug use. "Ninety per cent of people won't answer the door to you, they are up to no good," one man says. "There's a lot of drugs and burglary here."

Another man from the wider area told me that, like Mr Ebrahimi, he had also been abused - for being different. He said police were "not interested".

Mr Ebrahimi came to England from Iran in 2001, in search of a better life

"It's very rough here, there's drugs everywhere," he said.

"You find needles in the kids' play area and dog foul everywhere. People don't care about this area anymore," he said.

"After the Ebrahimi death, things have just spiralled down to even worse situations because people think they can get away with stuff."

Bristol East MP Kerry McCarthy said the man's story "reflects what I've heard from other people about life on that estate".

"There are very clearly major problems - they've been going on long before the Bijan Ebrahimi murder and it's a constant battle - obviously the police are stretched, the council are stretched - trying to get the attention of the authorities to do something about it."

'Significant impact'

Alex Raikes, from anti-racism charity SARI, said Mr Ebrahimi had dealt with racial harassment "by a large number of people in his neighbourhood" for years.

She said: "There were other people suffering in his area who have been too frightened to come forward. Bijan was one of those brave, courageous people that said: 'I'm not going to suffer in silence, I'm going to tell people what's happening. I want justice, I want these people to be dealt with."

Avon and Somerset Police and Bristol City Council say the area has been given priority, with weekly meetings try to identify problems and address underlying tensions.

They say the man we spoke to was being supported and was a priority for rehousing.

Police say Capgrave Crescent is being given priority and weekly meetings aim to address underlying tensions

Insp Nigel Colston, who is in charge of neighbourhood policing for south Bristol, said Mr Ebrahimi's murder had had a "significant impact on people" in the area. The police's challenge, he said, was to "make sure that people continue to feel safe" with officers working together with those in the neighbourhood.

"Brislington is no worse than many other parts of south Bristol," he said.

"Yes it has occasional issues... sometimes people's perceptions of what is going on are far worse than what is actually going on."

Brislington East is not the most deprived ward in Bristol by some way, it ranked 22nd most deprived out of 35 wards in 2015.

Neighbourhood crime statistics suggest anti-social behaviour is still the most frequently reported crime - 254 times in the year to October 2015, 16 of which were on Capgrave Crescent and Capgrave Close.

It is not vastly better or worse than surrounding neighbourhoods. But violent crime is up 45% this year, compared to the previous 12 months and concerns have been raised about the closure of Brislington Police Station - just around the corner from Capgrave Crescent - following budget cuts.

Councillor Mike Wollacott said media focus on the estate had been difficult for residents, who were "trying to put it behind them".

"It was a shock for the whole community. But they shouldn't be defined by that. It was one individual who was particularly volatile who created that situation."

Additional reporting by Emma Griffiths.