A book on Great Britain’s “most savage” Victorian slum has been written by a former regional daily journalist with family ties to the area.

Dean Kirby, who used to work at the Manchester Evening News, has penned Angel Meadow after being inspired while visiting an archaeological dig.

At the dig, history buff Dean uncovered the foundations of the home of his great-great-great grandfather, William Kirby, who records indicate lived on the spot near Manchester city centre nearly 150 years ago.

The experience prompted Dean to delve further into the history of the area, which was dubbed “hell on earth” by German industrialist and political pioneer Friedrich Engels.

Former MEN reporter Dean Kirby has written a book on former Mancunian slum, Angel Meadow

Dean, now northern correspondent for the Independent and i, trawled through hundreds of records, criminal court proceedings and newspaper articles to pen the first-ever history of the district.

The book features tragic, bizarre, but occasionally heart-warming examples of life in the crushing poverty experienced by those living in the rapidly expanding Victorian city.

Said Dean: “The conditions were so appalling that religious missionaries from London, where slum conditions were also dire, were appalled when they traveled up to Manchester.

“Half of those children who ended up dying in the slums were children under five.”

As part of his project, Dean also produced a map charting where rival teenage gangs, known as ‘scuttlers’, had fought turf battles in the ghetto.

The map is available on the website of his former employer.

He added: “There were beer houses with names such as the Flying Ass and the Dog and Duck.

“There all sorts of scams going on, including confidence tricksters with glorious names such as Jemmie the Crawler and Cabbage Ann. It is incredible to realise that people did manage to find a way to keep themselves entertained despite all the poverty and misery.”