Our estate was labelled a war zone after the riot - but the reality is very different

Our estate was labelled a war zone after the riot - but the reality is very different 5 hours ago Share Save Add as preferred on Google Garry Owen BBC Wales BBC Leanne says even if she won the lottery, she wouldn't leave Townhill Five years ago, a community perched high on a hill overlooking Swansea city centre was shaken to its core. Cars were torched, homes vandalised and residents and police attacked during two hours of violent disorder. The area was dubbed a "war zone". But people who live in Mayhill and Townhill say the perception of their estate is very different to the reality of their lives, in an area affectionately known as "the hill". I've been reporting from Swansea for over 40 years and thought I knew the hill well, but was keen to learn more about what it's like to live here. So I arranged to meet Leanne Dower, who has lived in Townhill all her life. We meet up when Leanne is on her way to work, at a community hub called The Phoenix Centre which she now runs - but I soon find that the route takes longer than I expected. Leanne must know everybody on the estate. She stops to talk, or shouts a cheery "Hi, you alright?" to nearly everybody passing on foot or by car. "I love it, absolutely love Townhill," she tells me. Warning: This article contains a reference to suicide Townhill and Mayhill are joined together in the same ward Leanne, now 48, first started working at the Phoenix - a social enterprise that reinvests any profits back into the community - when she was 23 and a single mum to her then one-year-old daughter. "There's good and bad everywhere and definitely here the good outweighs the bad. This is a positive community," she tells me. "I always say if I won the lottery I wouldn't move off Townhill. I love the views and the community spirit and the fact that everybody comes together when things are not good." That neighbourly spirit Leanne talks about was put to the test five years ago. On 20 May 2021, the tight-knit community made front page news after an outbreak of violent disorder in Mayhill, which prompted condemnation from the then Home Secretary Priti Patel. Social media The disorder, as pictured here on Waun-Wen Road in the Mayhill area, lasted for two hours It started after a peaceful vigil for a local teenager. Suddenly, the event turned violent. Homes were attacked and cars were smashed. Stones, bricks and bottles were pelted at police officers. People hid in terror in their homes. Eighteen people were later jailed for their part in the riot. The response from local people was swift, with many rushing to help clear up and support those who were targeted. Seven officers injured by missiles at riot Leanne said she "never felt prouder of the way the community here pulled together that day". But what sparked that massive community response? What was it that made people from all parts of the community rush out to help? This estate is one of the very first purpose-built council house estates in Wales, built in the inter-wa