You see all the prostitutes in the corner. I don't come out at night. When I am in, I will lock the door and that is it. Close to Swansea city centre, residents live in fear - scared even to to leave their houses to go to the corner shop. Drug dealing takes place openly, doors are tried at night and there is constant shouting and screaming on the streets, they say.
Police and ambulance are a daily feature in this estate. Griffith John Street, just off Carmarthen Road and metres away from High Street, is dominated by two ten-storey tower blocks. Between the high-rise blocks, there are a few bungalows and, also in the street, there are smaller apartment buildings. Between March and March , 58 crimes were reported in this single street and, last month, armed police were spotted in the street as the the emergency services dealt with a report of an assault.
Just last week, the air ambulance attended the flats after emergency services were called to reports of an unconscious woman. One of the residents who has had enough is Mervyn Potter, who has lived in one of the bungalows for the past three years.
When he first moved in, the sex workers used to come knock on his door, Mr Potter claimed, and asked him if he wanted "any business". There are usually five girls hanging around on the corner, he added, and when the police move them on from New Cut Road, they just move down to High Street, by the bridal shop that recently closed. At night, he can hear people shouting but he does not come out, and Mr Potter said sometimes he felt like a prisoner in his own house. Swansea Council has said it takes anti-social behaviour seriously and urged residents to report any issues so that action can be taken.
South Wales Police said they carried out three misuse of drug act warrants in the area last week and one person was arrested for possessing cannabis with intent to supply. Mr Potter's neighbour had been burgled four times in the past three years, he added, and his own shed was broken into. Griffith John Street has recently become associated with County Lines, when organised crime groups from large English cities expand their drug dealing operations into small cities and towns.
