When it comes to having a bad press, Berinsfield seems to have suffered more than most over the years.

Some people would conjure up images of a crime-ridden, run-down place with little going for it at the mention of the word.

A housing report from South Oxfordshire District Council says that while the village has a strong community spirit, it also has a bleak landscape, a declining employment base, and carries a stigma.

But the south Oxfordshire village has fought back and is a thriving, friendly and peaceful place which does not deserve the stigma which a few have associated it with, say villagers.

"It has got better and better. People were asking to leave Berinsfield 25 years ago, but they want to come back now," said Ken Hall, a district councillor and chairman of Berinsfield Parish Council, who has lived in the village for 37 years, said: "I'm quite convinced that it has become a settled village now, not just an estate." The village itself started off life in empty military huts which were left behind at the end of the Second World War, when the RAF moved its camp from the area.

Squatters moved into the huts, which were later let out on a formal basis, before the idea came about of building a whole new village. It was called Berinsfield and has evolved into a thriving centre, complete with its own facilities including a successful sports centre, primary school and community centre.

Shaun Ellery (correct), who lives in a South Oxfordshire Housing Association house in Glyme Drive (correct) with his wife and two children, said: "My first reaction on moving here was about the stigma but we were surprised at the sense of community."

"If you walk to the shops, there's always someone who will speak to you.

"Everybody speaks to each other. There's a real mix of different people here and everybody seems to get on."

The 30-year-old, who is a supervisor for a computer firm in Bracknell, Berkshire, added: "I've often thought about moving closer to work, but the only place I would move to would be another house in Berinsfield."

Sheila Croft is the chairman of governors at Berinsfield Primary School and the manager of the village library.

She has lived in Berinsfield for the last decade and worked in it for 23 years, and said the village is going - and will keep going - from strength to strength. "I just find it a very nice place to live," she said.

"It has a bad reputation which it does not deserve. There still a stigma attached to it, mainly by people who live outside the village.

"There a wonderful community here and people do care for each other."

Although no-one would say that Berinsfield has had a spotless reputation when it comes to crime, things are definitely improving.

Putting aside the theft of the new cemetery's gates and the arson at Berinsfield Primary School earlier this year, police say crime levels are going down significantly. "It has gone down a hell of a lot. The community has started to have more confidence in the police over the years," said Pc Karron Chesterman (correct), who has been a beat officer in the village for the last three years.

"It's a close-knit community and it's quite isolated in some ways. You don't drive through the village to get somewhere, and the younger people tend to stay in the village."

The most common crimes relate to cars and domestic disputes, with the occasional drugs problem, said Pc Chesterman.

"Berinsfield has had an awful name for years but it's a good place overall. A lot of the people are nice," she added.

One of the high points - if not the highest point - in Berinsfield's history was the Queen's visit in November last year, which Ken Hall says "did a lot of good" for the village.

Berinsfield can also claim links with another well-known figure - its MP is the former Deputy Prime Minister, Michael Heseltine.

"Berinsfield really is thriving, developing and becoming more mature," said Steve Reader, the community education organ- iser at Mount Farm Community Education Centre in the village. "If there is a stigma here, it's totally unjustified and should have been buried long ago.

"I love working here. The people are extremely responsive.

"They seem to know what they want and they go for it."

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