A front-row seat as fires raged in city street
The riot, they have started to target my house, I’ve got two children inside the house, can you hear me, the riot from Waun Wen, they’re targeting my house. They are chucking bricks through my house Adam Romain on the phone to the police
ONE of the victims of the Mayhill riot has shared shocking video footage from inside his home as cars are set on fire outside and bricks are thrown through his windows as he pleads on the phone for help from the police.
Adam Romain’s car was torched on the evening of May 20, before a group of youths began hurling bricks at him and his Waun-wen Road property, showering his baby daughter’s cot with glass.
The distressing footage, understood to have been recorded on Adam’s motorcycle helmet camera, shows the 34-year-old on the phone pleading for police to come and help his family as flames can be seen outside his home where his car is on fire.
A loud bang is heard before Adam shouts “get away from the windows”, to his children and partner. He then adds: “It’s going to be all right, son, it’s going to be OK.”
Adam then phones the police before he shouts “oh my God” after a brick is thrown through the front window and screams from inside the house can be heard.
Speaking on the phone to the police, he said: “The riot, they have started to target my house, I’ve got two children inside the house, can you hear me, the riot from Waun Wen, they’re targeting my house. They are chucking bricks through my house.”
“What’s going on?” the woman replies.
“They are throwing bricks at my house, I’ve got two children inside, please come. There’s a mob outside, they’re throwing stones, bricks, there’s three cars on fire. Come quick, I have two children inside, one of them is a baby, they are throwing bricks through my window, my car is outside in front of my house burning up.”
A brick is then thrown through the front door.
A video taken later at around 11.30pm shows Uber Eats driver Adam Romain approaching officers in a van before simply asking “where were the police?”.
In the footage, Mr Romain can be heard asking officers: “Where have you been, why were you not here, what excuse have you got to turn up three hours later? I had to stand there and take bricks while my baby was inside the house. Where were you?” The police can then be seen driving away from the scene.
The gathering in Mayhill that ended up as a riot had originally been organised as a tribute to Swansea teenager Ethan Powell, 19, who had collapsed and later died after watching the Swansea City v Barnsley football match.
Adam moved to the area in 2017 where he lives with his partner and two children, aged four and one. Since the incident they have been living with family and are now planning on moving away as they say they no longer feel safe.
Adam said: “We are looking to move elsewhere, we are just going to leave Swansea completely. I can’t sit in that living room any more with my children playing there with the thought that a brick could come through the window at any point.”
He said the family were slowly recovering.
“My partner is holding up, she’s finding the strength to keep going. I haven’t gone back to work these last few days, she’s too afraid for me to go out at the moment. The poor lady next door to me was petrified, absolutely petrified. Everybody is fearing for their kids, some people have left already.”
He added: “I can’t put my children through that any more, I can’t risk it. I really applaud the bravery of those who are saying ‘hang on, why should I move?’.
“Hundreds of people have contacted me and sent us messages, I don’t feel like I’ve been able to thank them enough,” he added.
South Wales Police were asked to comment on the new footage from inside Mr Romain’s home, including why he did not receive a visit from the police at the time of the incident or for several hours afterwards, but Walesonline was directed to an interview provided by assistant chief constable Jenny Gilmer last Friday when she responded to questions over the force’s response to the disturbance.
She said about 60 officers were present at the scene “at its peak” and remained “all night”.
Police said this week they were expecting to make more arrests. Over the weekend, seven people, including a 16-year-old boy, were arrested in connection with the violent disorder.
Of the seven who have been arrested, two, aged 21 and 23, remain in police custody and five have been released on bail with a number of strict conditions, including a night-time curfew.