Tuesday

"The next morning I headed out to explore what facilities were available for young people on the estate since the youth centre in the Boiler House was shut down. At the heart of the estate is “the mugger” or MUGA (multi-use games area) — a run-down caged football pitch that I had passed several times before.

It was mostly deserted except for a young man, Timon Dixon, 21, who could often be found kicking a ball against the fence. Why was it not used? “It’s not safe to play on,” Timon said, pointing to its rubberised surface that was coming away in chunks, exposing rough asphalt. He and some friends had launched a campaign to lobby Lambeth council, he said, to put in a proper astroturf pitch so that the young people could play “a normal game of football”. Campaign on Angell Town estate, Brixton. © copyright Kiran Mensah 2015.