West Hull versus East Hull: Is one side really more ‘rough’ than the other?

The divide between west Hull and east Hull is perhaps one of the most baffling things for newcomers to understand when they arrive in our city.

It’s mostly good-natured, from slightly-drunk strangers in nightclubs demanding, “East Hull or West Hull?” in a madcap way of greeting, or banter from others saying west Hull is “stuck up” or east Hull is “rough”. This rivalry might be rooted in rugby but some of the stereotypes have lingered.

One of these is that east Hull is somehow “not as safe”. I’m completely disloyal and, after spending a year in north Hull, and then a period of renting in west Hull, I finally decided to buy my first house in the Southcoates area of east Hull and was surprised at how many raised eyebrows the news received.

Read more: East vs west Hull: We found out who thinks the rivalry actually exists

“Rather you than me,” was a regular quip, while others quizzed me about how safe I felt walking down Holderness Road. This one baffled me because, other than a bit of littering, it’s hardly an unpleasant area.

My neighbours on either side are lovely and I know that if I ever was in trouble they would help out. In my time here, I’ve never seen anything remotely “dodgy”.

One night out last year, I walked home at about 1am from Newland Avenue, down Spring Bank, and back down Holderness Road. As I crossed the River Hull and into east Hull, I felt no impending sense of doom and, as you’d expect, my night-time walk was entirely uneventful, although a bit cold.

Contrast this with London, where I lived for four years, and I’ve been followed, harassed, and even mugged. But all of this is anecdotal and boils down to opinion. When you look at the crime statistics, is there any difference between east and west?

I took three months of the most recent data (September to November 2022) from the police.uk website where you can break it down into local wards. Unsurprisingly, places in the city with shopping centres and high footfall, such as Hull Paragon Interchange, have higher overall rates of reported crime due to shoplifting and other thefts, so I also looked at violent and sexual crimes.

Data from these three months appear to show that Sutton in east Hull is one of the safer places to live, although the Avenues in west Hull have similar reported crime rates. In any city, the nearer you are to the centre the more likely you are to experience crime. Hull is no different, with St Andrews and Docklands having the highest number of reported crimes.

East Hull

Marfleet

• 158 crimes reported in November 2022 (75 violent)
• 199 crimes reported in October 2022 (81 violent)
• 235 crimes reported in September 2022 (95 violent)

Southcoates

• 181 crimes reported in November 2022 (80 violent)
• 169 crimes reported in October 2022 (79 violent)
• 179 crimes reported in September 2022 (78 violent)

Ings

• 122 crimes reported in November (44 violent)
• 84 crimes reported in October (30 violent)
• 130 crimes reported in September (78 violent)

Sutton

• 117 crimes reported in November (44 violent)
• 90 crimes reported in October (31 violent)
• 221 crimes reported September (21 violent)

Holderness (including James Reckitt Avenue and Sutton Ings)

• 72 crimes reported in November (23 violent)
• 64 crimes reported in October (25 violent)
• 84 crimes reported in September (32 violent)

Longhill

• 151 crimes reported in November (60 violent)
• 182 crimes reported in October (74 violent)
• 160 crimes reported in September (58 violent)

Drypool (including Garden Village and Victoria Dock)

• 201 crimes reported in November (51 violent)
• 205 crimes reported in October (56 violent)
• 183 crimes reported in September (62 violent)

West Hull

Boothferry (including Anlaby Park)

• 91 crimes reported in November (33 violent)
• 116 crimes reported in October (39 violent)
• 64 crimes reported in September (17 violent)

Central (including Botanic and Sculcoates)

• 268 crimes reported November (105 violent)
• 310 crimes reported October (113 violent)
• 305 crimes reported September (96 violent)

Avenues (including Chanterlands Avenue and Pearson Park)

• 132 crimes reported November (43 violent)
• 149 crimes reported October (44 violent)
• 152 crimes reported September (44 violent)

St Andrews and Docklands (including Hessle Road, Hull Paragon Station)

• 447 crimes reported November (172 violent)
• 545 crimes reported October (183 violent)
• 520 crimes reported September (160 violent)

Newington and Gipsyville

• 195 crimes reported November (72 violent)
• 200 crimes reported October (94 violent)
• 231 crimes reported September (93 violent)

What do you about the localised stereotypes in Hull and would you ever consider moving from one side to the other, or even crossing over the border to live in East Yorkshire? And where does north Hull fit into all of this?

Have your say and let us know in the comments below.

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