Middlesbrough is a Victorian city with an industrial charm. There are some nice buildings here and it certainly beats a lot of other places in the country (and in my opinion, it does beat Wakefield, whose city centre appears to be completely made out of concrete). However, there is a significant chav community here and that is the main problem with the town.

The story you describe I can quite believe happened in Boro. Things have improved over the last five years but getting involved in that sort of situation is probably not advisable. I know it's not great, but again there are many other towns across the country where similar instances occur. It's like anywhere though, some of the people here are the friendliest and most honest people you would ever wish to meet but then there are others who are the exact opposite. I guess that's the same in every town.