Homes

EVERY time Southend United play at home, father-of-two Tyrone Buckingham has a near-perfect view of the game from his bedroom window.But rather than enjoying the action unfold at Essex’s biggest football stadium, most match days he can be found watching his beloved Arsenal play on television instead.
Tyrone Buckingham’s home backs on to Southend United’s stadiumCredit: JOHN McLELLAN
The decaying Roots Hall needs a revampCredit: Google Earth
Tyrone is such a dedicated Gunners fan that he has painted the walls of his flat red and white.
He moved into a flat overlooking decaying Roots Halls stadium by coincidence seven years ago and says he has become increasingly enraged by his lower league neighbours.
As part of our Life’s a Pitch summer series, we visited the seaside city to see what locals made of life living next to the troubled team, which faces existential problems on and off the pitch.
Tyrone, 35, told The Sun: “They are an absolute nightmare. They keep leaving their alarms on and they go off at all hours.
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“The alarms are regularly keeping me and my children up at night and I am a lorry driver so I have to be up at 4.30am.
“The alarms have been an ongoing problem for years. We complained and it stopped for a while but now it has started again.
“They went off at 2am the other night and kept going for hours. They are totally taking the Mickey.”
To prove his point, Tyrone played us a recording he made of the alarm ringing outside his bedroom window.
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The high-pitched sound filled the speaker of his mobile phone as he showed our reporter the video, which he says was taken at 5.30am on a recent morning.
He added: “My kids are aged three and six and we all need our sleep. The club also test their speakers at 10pm some nights and they had their floodlights on at about the same time last night.
“I guess this would be a great flat for a Southend fan but I’m Arsenal – my bedroom is red and white – so I’ve got no interest in following their team.
“I never, ever watch the games from my window and if the club decides to move to a new stadium that will be absolutely fine with me.”
Floodlights and noise wake residents up at nightCredit: JOHN McLELLAN
Local Paul Burton says the ground is ‘stuck in time’Credit: JOHN McLELLAN
Tryone’s wish isn’t as fanciful at it might seem.
In recent months, Southend United has been dragged back and forth from the courts over its financial difficulties, with fan group The Shrimpers Trust saying it remained under “existential threat” until owner Ron Martin sells up.
This week, the National League granted the team a licence to start the season after it paid its staff for the first time in three months.
A spokesman told The Sun: “Staff are fully up to date with their salaries.”
The 117-year-old club lost its Football League status in 2021 following back-to-back relegations and Southend West MP Anna Firth recently raised its plight in Parliament.
Martin has been trying to find a buyer for the club since March and earlier this month said he has done “everything in my power to close the deal quickly”.
‘Stuck in time’
While all this goes on the stadium Roots Hall, which has been the Shrimpers’ home since 1955, is falling into a state of disrepair and fans have been gathering outside to protest.
Policeman Paul Burton also lives next to the ground, although his upper-level flat does not boast a view of the pitch.
Paul, 39, said: “The stadium is stuck in time. It’s like living next to a relic – nothing has changed over there for years.
“The owner is not the most popular person in the world, but it’s a historic club and it will be a shame if they go under.
“Last season they had the highest average attendance in the league. They can get 8,000 or 9,000 fans turning up if they are playing one of the big London teams in the cup.
“It doesn’t bother me having them here at all. They only play once every two weeks and if I close my windows I can’t hear the crowd. Also, this is a nice area so I enjoy living here.”
Flats overlook the stadium and can even see on to the pitchCredit: Getty
Hazel Newbold says litter is a nightmare on match daysCredit: JOHN McLELLAN
Supermarket worker Hazel Newbold is less keen on the Shrimpers remaining next door to her home, however.
Southend’s chairman bought the club in 1998 with the intention of relocating them to a new stadium at Fossetts Farm, north of the city.
But numerous delays – one caused by the discovery of a Bronze Age burial site – have caused the proposed move to become a painful saga, dragging on for years.
Hazel, 54, said: “We get a lot of litter on match days – that’s my main gripe. The fans put beer bottles on our wall and they fall off and smash, which is dangerous for the children.
“The club doesn’t clear up our street, only the path that leads to the stand next to our house.
“The floodlights are an issue as they fill our bedrooms with light and you get a lot of glare.
“We’ve heard the alarms too but we don’t know where they came from.”
Hazel’s son Brad Newbold, 28, lives next door to her with his partner Nikki Crockett, 36, but they are now planning to move.
Lorry driver Brad said: “I used to go and watch games at Roots Hall when I was younger and it was a decent stadium back then, but they’ve totally let it go.
“The parking situation is a nightmare and will only get worse if the new homes get built as there will be so many more people living here then.”
Receptionist Nikki added: “We’re moving into town where they have parking permits because we’ve had enough. We have both agreed that wherever we go, it’s not going to be near a football stadium.”
‘They’re a great team’
One person that has been happy living next to the 12,000-plus capacity stadium is police officer Mel, 35, who remembers going to watch Southend with her grandfather as a little girl.
Almost three years ago, when they first opened, she didn’t hesitate snapping up a one bedroom flat in the new apartment complex on neighbouring Fairfax Drive.
Mel has asked us not to use her real name because of the sensitive line of work she is involved in.
She said: “I’ve always loved football and you can see almost the entire pitch from the terrace next to my flat.
“I didn’t buy it for that reason. It was just that I could get a mortgage here as a first-time buyer.
“But I’ve loved living here and the only reason I am moving is that I need a bigger place.
“The view is definitely a selling point and I’ve had a few people come round to view it and say, ‘Wow, you can see the football stadium!’
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“I’m going to be sad to leave and I really hope the club has a future as they’re a great team and all the players and staff are fantastic.”
The Sun contacted Southend United for comment, who only confirmed that salaries have been paid. More

IT is thought to be the oldest professional football ground in the world.And residents living next to Mansfield Town’s One Call Stadium are having a ball – even if it means one occasionally lands in their garden.
Mandy Colley, 49, whose house is next to the away supporters stand of Mansfield Town’s football groundCredit: Raymonds Press
One Call Stadium – known by fans as the Field Mill – is thought to be the oldest professional football ground in the world
In the heart of the Nottinghamshire town’s former mining community, the historic ground – formerly known as the Field Mill and dating back as far as 1850 – is slapped bang in the middle of tightly-packed Victorian housing.
It means that on match days, locals can hear 6,000 fans celebrating a goal from their back yard – and face the double threat of rogue balls and water from the pitch sprinklers ruining sunbathing sessions.

But there are also unique benefits, including free match tickets in seasons past and the annual spectacle of a dazzling fireworks display.
As part of our summer series, Life’s a Pitch, which looks at life next to Britain’s weirdest and most wonderful stadiums, we took a trip down to the League Two side’s home turf.
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Tracey Anne Pepper, 56, lives on Lord Street, where houses back on to one side of the One Call.
The resident of 30 years says: “I absolutely love living here. We are quite lucky because although we are right next to the ground, we don’t get big crowds of people walking up here.
“But on most match days you will get a handful of away fans wandering around looking a bit lost as they think they will be able to get in.
“It’s also fun when balls come over during a match. They bounce down the road and people have been known to grab them before anyone comes around to collect them then pretend they didn’t see anything.
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Tracey Anne Pepper, 56, says you used to get a free match ticket if a ball landed in your gardenCredit: Raymonds Press
The 6,000 seater ground overlooks Victorian terracesCredit: Raymonds Press
“In the past you used to get a free match ticket if you handed back a match ball, but that ended a while ago.
“But the best thing is probably the atmosphere. If you are a Mansfield fan like me it’s great when you hear a goal go in. The roar is so loud and it really lifts you. You don’t even need to check on your phone or the radio if there has been a goal.”
Last season Mansfield Town finished eighth in League Two, narrowly missing the play-offs, which would have given them the chance of getting promoted.
The Stags’ only cup win came when they lifted the English Football League trophy back in 1987, but their loyal fanbase has stuck with them through thick and thin, with a record 5,000 season tickets sold ahead of the upcoming season.
‘Like it’s raining’
Mandy Connolly, 49, lives right next to the ground, and her back garden is just 30 yards from the away stand, with just a fence separating them.
She’s so close that the pitch sprinklers reach her garden – ruining sunbathing sessions.
Mandy said: “If you’re not into football, I can see that it might be a bit annoying. But I like it – although I am a Leicester City fan, not Mansfield – so I find living here really interesting.
“There are loads of funny little things you get when your house is next to a football ground. I can sit in my garden and see the fans in the away end leaping up and down if they score.
“I have been here six years and had four balls in my garden in that time. Any that aren’t collected I give to local kids, which absolutely delights them.
“When they water the pitch with the sprinklers it comes into my garden – sometimes it’s like it’s raining, and I have to get my washing in off the line.
“The pitch is also used as a helipad at times, which must be the owner flying in and out. It’s fascinating to watch the helicopters as they land and take off.
“And we get a free firework display every bonfire night as the club always hosts a really spectacular one.”
The cul-de-sac means fans don’t crowd the roads on match days, although you still see the floodlightsCredit: Raymonds Press
An annual fireworks display divides residentsCredit: mansfieldtownfc/twitter
While parking can be an issue for those living close to other stadiums on match days, Mansfield locals insist it’s not a problem.
Lord Street is a cul-de-sac, meaning there is no entrance to the stadium, and since it is so close to the town centre, the council has imposed a residents-only permit system.
Hotel worker Lesleigh Butler, 36, said: “I’ve been here seven years and have never had a problem.
When they water the pitch with the sprinklers it comes into my garden – sometimes it’s like it’s raining, and I have to get my washing in off the lineMandy Connolly, local resident
“The only thing I actually don’t like is the firework display, because the street is left covered in firework casings.
“Other than that the atmosphere is good and if Mansfield are doing well in the league or cup there is a good feeling on the street because you all feel part of it, living so close.
“So really we have a lot of the benefits of living next to a stadium, without the negatives like traffic, crowds or litter.
“A few years ago they were talking about buying up all the houses at the top end of the street so they could redevelop the Bishop Street Stand – but that seems to have gone quiet.
“A lot of them are owned by people who have been here for years though – which shows it is a nice place to live.”
Mandy Tolley, 52, works in the Sandy Pate sports bar at the ground.
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She said: “It’s perfect for me because I can roll out of bed and get straight to work.
“I’m not a Mansfield fan – you have supporters of all different teams living on this street. But everyone gets on, and overall it’s a pretty happy place.” More