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<\/p>\nRESIDENTS in the city where hit police drama Vera is filmed say life isn't too far from the show.<\/p>\n
While Newcastle may seem like a safe, friendly area, locals reckon it's sometimes much closer to Brenda Blethyn's crime-ridden patch – with murders happening on their doorsteps. <\/p>\n
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The popular ITV programme sees DCI Vera Stanhope, played by Blethyn, investigate a grisly death in each of its episodes, which are set in the Toon and and the wider North East. <\/p>\n
Despite the series' portrayal of gritty streets, Geordies say the city is mostly welcoming and secure.<\/p>\n
However, away from the centre, they speak of hard crime taking place close to their homes. <\/p>\n
Ruby Carter, a maths student at Newcastle University, said: "There isn't a murder every week like there is in the show, but there was a murder in my street.<\/p>\n
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"I think it was a one off so it didn't make me worry about my safety. I brushed it off.<\/p>\n
"Overall I feel very safe here. There's crime but not enough to warrant a show about a detective solving crimes."<\/p>\n
The 18-year-old added that it was "really cool" to have TV crews in the city as it "puts Newcastle on the map". <\/p>\n
But she reckons the area is much more well-known for Geordie Shore than it is for Vera, which was first broadcast in 2011. <\/p>\n
<\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n Nick Turner, 36, from nearby Blyth, Northumberland, also described a worrying incident that Blethyn's character would likely love to investigate – though insisted the region's not as riddled with crime as DCI Stanhope's. <\/p>\n He said: "I know there was a body found behind a Morrisons in my local area a couple of weeks ago, but it isn't usually like that. <\/p>\n "It isn't like how it's portrayed on the show. Everyone is really friendly around here."<\/p>\n Nick added: "It's great that the show is based in the North East. The area has a lot going for it. <\/p>\n "They actually filmed a Vera scene a couple of streets down from me where I live.<\/p>\n "I was on holiday at the time but when I came back the road was taped off and we had to wait to be let back in."<\/p>\n The North East metropolis is filled with high-end stores, cocktail bars and restaurants which rarely feature on screen. <\/p>\n But the stunning Quayside, an iconic hotspot where tourists rush to take in the river views, is a prime filming location. <\/p>\n Vera can often be seen leaning against the railings with a coffee, chatting to her sidekick DS Aiden Healy, played by Kenny Doughty.<\/p>\n Married couple Maureen and Syd Field are regular viewers of the drama, which so far has 50 episodes. <\/p>\n Retired prosthetic technician Syd, 69, said: "It's fun to watch it on the TV and spot different places you know. That's why I watch it.<\/p>\n "I saw them filming on the moors once while I was walking "It was great to see. They had a full set up and caravans for the stars."<\/p>\n Maureen, a retired nurse added: "Newcastle isn't riddled with crime. The people are lovely.<\/p>\n "I'm sure there are gangs and crimes that happen in the city but it's just like everywhere else.<\/p>\n "It's a really lovely place to live, some of the scenery in the show is beautiful, especially up in Northumberland.<\/p>\n "It's really great for the area to have a show like Vera set here."<\/p>\n It's not a gritty northern town as is portrayed. <\/p>\n One of the things the 71-year-old loves most about the series, based on novels by Ann Cleeves, is Blethyn's Geordie accent. <\/p>\n "She certainly does it justice," Maureen said.<\/p>\n "Sometimes people make us look like characters but that isn't the case with her."<\/p>\n Like Syd and Maureen, Chrystal Davis agreed that Newcastle has a negative reputation but in reality it's not always like that.<\/p>\n "It's not a gritty northern town as is portrayed, it's a very modern city," the business and management student at Northumbria University, 19, said. <\/p>\n "I feel safer here than I do in other cities such as Manchester and Liverpool.<\/p>\n "There's a nice atmosphere here, and random people will help me on nights out whereas they've never done that elsewhere.<\/p>\n "It's great for the area to be featured in such a big show and it does have a close community feel like Vera does.<\/p>\n "Everyone knows each other which I was surprised at in a big city.<\/p>\n "Plus, it's really beautiful. The Quayside is the best area."<\/p>\n And Kate Collon, 42, who moved to the northern city from London and is currently unemployed, said: "Everyone is really lovely, friendly and approachable.<\/p>\n "I feel safer here than I do in London."<\/p>\n While locals may feel safe, the crime rate in Newcastle has increased in the last two years. <\/p>\n Officials figures show there were 742 offences reported in the city centre in December 2022 alone, the majority of which were violent and sexual. <\/p>\n This compares to 544 during the same period in 2020, when most were categorised as anti-social behaviour. <\/p>\n NEWCASTLE upon Tyne is the most dangerous major city in Tyne and Wear and is in the top five of all 28 towns, villages and cities in the county. <\/p>\n The overall crime rate in 2021 was 114 per 1,000 people. <\/p>\n This is 24 per cent higher than the county rate of 92. <\/p>\n However, when looking at England, Wales and Northern Ireland together, Newcastle is the third safest major city and the 431st most dangerous location out of all cities, towns and villages. <\/p>\n In December 2022, the most recent data available, there were 742 crimes reported in Newcastle city centre. <\/p>\n Most of these were violent and sexual offences, followed by theft and shoplifting. <\/p>\n For comparison, there were 408 crimes reported in Sunderland, six in Durham, 1,295 in Middlesbrough, and 1,239 in Leeds over the same period. <\/p>\n There were six recorded murders in the year ending July 2022. <\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/www.thesun.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/JW-KAZ-CROSSLEY-JAILED-COMP-1.jpg\")
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