‘Found Over 50 In 30-Min Walk’: London Journalist Counts Gutka Stains On Street, And The Final Result Will Shock You

Streets in London are attracting attention for a problem that has become hard to ignore. A journalist recently shared a video showing brown stains on pavements and walls caused by gutka, a type of chewing tobacco. The marks have left public spaces messy and unhygienic. This has raised concerns among residents and business owners who are noticing stains more frequently.

In her Instagram video, journalist Brooke Davis walks through Wembley streets and points out the widespread brown stains caused by paan leaves.

Gutka Stains In Wembley

“Have you seen these brown stains in London? I’m spending my day counting them, which is a really interesting use of my free will,” Bravis says as she shows viewers just how common the stains have become.

Davis reports

that she spotted about 50 stains in just 30 minutes and new marks kept appearing as she filmed.

“Spoken to residents and business owners who say that there are also sick of the mess and they want it banned. And I spoke to one shopkeeper who sells paan leaf and he said only a small minority actually spit paan out. But other members of the community are absolutely sick of having to clean up the stains from their houses and their businesses and they want Brent to ban it,” Davis added.

“But Brent Council are going one step further – they are appealing to the government to completely outlaw it. So should paan be banned in Brent let alone the rest of the UK?” she concluded.

The caption shared along with the video reads: “Let’s talk about London’s brown stains.”

Watch The Clip Here

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A post shared by Brooke Davies | Journalist (@brookedaviesjourno)

Desis Respond To Wembley’s Gutka Stains

Since being shared online, the video has accumulated more than four million views and sparked discussions online especially among Indian users.

One user commented, “Don’t ban paan, just jail the people spitting in public. Or massively fine them.”

Another said, “This is highly embarrassing for us,” while someone added, “Can’t even defend my own country at this point.”

“As an Indian, I support the law! It should be banned,” a person wrote.

“What’s wrong with these people…I mean no civic sense,” an individual reacted.

“Even we (Indians), who live in India, are sick of watching these!” a viewer shared.

“Immigration doesn’t mean freedom to spoil the land of opportunity,” “Indians lack basic common and civic sense” and “It is a real issue in India too” were some other remarks.

Brent Council Takes Strict Measures To Combat Gutka Stains

According to a report in Evening Standard, a North London council spends more than £30,000 (Rs 36 lakhs) annually to clean shops, pavements and buildings marked with dark-red chewing tobacco residue.

Brent Council has pledged to take a “zero-tolerance approach” to the problem which it says not only causes “serious health and environmental damage.” To tackle the issue, the council has installed banners in three of the borough’s busiest spots.

Enforcement officers will patrol these areas, with offenders potentially facing fines of up to £100 (Rs 12,000).