The Fraud Capital of Britain

Thamesmead was one of the most exciting new towns to be built in the 1960s, intended as a vibrant, riverside community of 60,000 people in south east London. Forty years on, the area is perhaps best known as a notorious hub of fraud, dubbed 'Little Lagos' because of its association with west African criminal gangs. Phil Kemp investigates how this reputation has stuck. He talks to a former fraudster and meets residents fighting to turn the community around and shake off its crime-ridden image.