Constitution Hill, Swansea - wall collapse

A 32ft section of wall collapsed at around 00.30 on Sunday morning, on Constitution Hill, near Swansea city centre. Just hours earlier, we drove past. I'm so glad it didn't go then. I'm especially thankful that it didn't happen on a school day, whilst pupils were walking past on their way to, or home from, school. Although no official cause has yet been cited for the collapse, engineers suspect last week's torrential rain played a major part in it.

I'm also glad the occupants of this house, who have been evacuated, were not sitting outside enjoying a midnight drink or barbecue. That's not actually solid ground the patio furniture is sitting on, just a slab of concrete protruding over the crumbling earth bank.

I hope the council sends surveyors to inspect all similar high walls in the area. There's a lot of subsidence in this area, caused by geological factors, quarrying and wartime bomb damage. A number of walls have eroded, but none as suddenly and catastrophically as this one.

I was hoping to get a few more shots from different angles, but Jake suddenly decided to slip out of his harness and do a runner. Luckily, we managed to chase him onto Chaddersley Terrace, where there's no access for traffic, and eventually managed to catch the little devil. I might pop back down tomorrow, minus Jake.