Army veteran fought to make community safe

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AN ARMY veteran who chased guntoting drug dealers off a deprived South Wales estate has been remembered for his remarkable community spirit, following his death aged 63.

Despite the mental scars left by tours of Northern Ireland and the first Gulf War, frontline paramedic Philip Loveday confronted the thugs sent in to counter his clean-up campaign.

The family man – who suffered posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) – even refused to back down when they threatened to set fire to his house.

Now people living on Bridgend’s Wildmill estate, who are reaping the benefits of his bravery 20 years ago, are preparing to say goodbye after his death from pancreatic cancer.

Daughter Angharad Hillman, 33, said drugs and violence across the estate stirred him into action in the mid 1990s.

“I remember getting harassing phone calls saying they were going to burn our house down. I was still in junior school,” she said.

“My dad was battling with post-traumatic stress and he went toe to toe with a couple of the heavies they [the drug dealers] brought down.

“There was guns there and my dad said: ‘Come here and have a go. I’ll show you how to use it properly.’

“He just got sick of seeing Wildmill turning into the mess that it was.”

Phil – a battlefield class one paramedic and bandsman who served in the Army for 20 years and for 10 years in the reserves – and wife Sally Ann helped to found the Wildmill Area Tenants and Residents’ Association (WATRA).

Member Pete Foley said people had been “afraid to open their doors”.

But WATRA forged close links with the police, making the estate a far less comfortable place for criminals who were either arrested or moved out.

“He helped the community regain its self-confidence and he never forgot that all bullies are cowards,” said Pete.

Blaengwynfi-born Phil, who discovered in 2011 that he’d been living with a fractured vertebrae in his neck his entire adult life, later became chairman of WATRA.

Despite poor health the ex-lance corporal, who served with the Royal Regiment of Wales and Royal Highland Fusiliers, continued his fight to ensure Wildmill was a safe community and in 2005 he slammed the “bad apples” who continued to give the area a bad name after a PCSO was shot at with an air rifle.

At the time he said: “We just want the rest of Bridgend to see we’re not trash, we are human beings. Most of us are working hard so it hurts when people belittle us.”

The following year he received a Government Respect for Taking a Stand award and revealed crime on the estate had been slashed by up to 70% since WATRA’s formation.

For the last few years he joined fellow veteran Tom Weaver to stage an annual random act of kindness in Bridgend town centre.

Last autumn, shortly before Phil was hospitalised, they joined forces with Subway and Go Air to give out thousands of pounds’ worth of free meals and tickets.

Phil leaves Sally Ann, who works in Asda, Bridgend, and their children Angharad, Elizabeth Grace and Aled. He was also dad to Aaron, who passed away and he was father to Cathy and Gavin from previous relationships.

Phil’s funeral takes place on July 28 at 2.45pm at Coychurch Crematorium.

Angharad is raising money for Pancreatic Cancer UK by doing a 5km walk every two months carrying the weight she has lost on her back in an Army rucksack.

Her fundraising page can be found online at: uk.virginmoneygiving.com/ Harrilbs2pounds