National paper takes shot at Banbury – a “crime ridden town”

It’s the second time the Daily Mail has written about the town

A national newspaper has attacked Banbury describing it as a “Crime ridden town on the edge of the Cotswolds blighted by a migrant hotel where residents spend all day drinking in [a] park ‘where [a] woman was raped’ – just yards from a police station”.

The article in the Daily Mail appears to have been prompted by the police investigation into an alleged gang rape in St Mary’s Church, which police later said they had found no evidence had actually happened.

Reporters from the paper spoke to a number of people in Banbury and wrote of “mounting concern” about the number of migrants in the town, noting the use of the Banbury House Hotel as asylum seeker accommodation and quoting one local person who said she doesn’t feel safe going out at night.

The owner of Henry’s Menswear on Banbury High Street told the Daily Mail that since the hotel had been used to house asylum seekers he had noticed a marked drop in tourist footfall and sales.

The paper’s reporter visited St Mary’s churchyard where they said they saw empty whisky bottles and cans of cider on the church steps and graves and wrappings and price tags from shoplifted goods.

They also claim to have witnessed a drug deal taking place in People’s Park.

This is not the first time the Daily Mail has taken aim at Banbury. In January 2024 they ran a story which described the Castle Quay Shopping Centre was “a ghost town” and focused on boarded up High Street units.

What do you think? Please post a comment below.

---

Published: 06/10/2025 11:43am by the Banbury FM News Team

---