A STRIP of homes in what was once labelled Wales' most-polluted street has been demolished.
The row of 23 houses in Woodland Terrace, Hafodyrynys, has vanished - knocked down after nitrogen dioxide levels recorded there breached world health rules.
The levels were recorded as the highest in the UK outside central London, and were caused by passing lorries and cars climbing the hill on the A472.
Those living on the street were paid to leave by the Welsh Government when their houses were bought above market prices in a £6m deal.
Emotional families returned to the street to watch the work begin to tear down their homes in October last year.
Martin Brown, 74, lived in the row for 50 years with his beloved wife Pat before he was finally moved out.
He said: “I don’t know how it has affected my health, but it’s worrying.
“There are families who lived here, one in particular, a woman, told me her two children were having breathing problems. Is it linked? We don’t know.
“I’ve got problems now with my eyes and I wonder if it is as a result of all of this.”
Bob Stebbings, 77, returned to the street to watch the work begin after growing up there as a child.
He said: “I lived here for 23 years and it was my childhood home where I had the best childhood you could imagine.
“I’m very sad, it feels upsetting and I will feel sad not to see the house there anymore. But I know it needs to happen.
“It always was a smoke trap this place. When I lived here it was all coal fires and in the morning, when everyone lit their fires, you could see the air was blue. It held in here.”
Neighbours now say it is emotional to pass by the empty land and see no trace of the former homes.
One woman said: "It's sad driving past and seeing the houses gone."
Another said: "I keep thinking of all the previous residents who had wonderful memories living there I’m sure."
One man said: "I understand it being the most polluted street but it was still people's homes. Not just a house."
Traffic surveys revealed that up to 21,000 vehicles used the road every day and a canyon effect was created by polluted air, trapped by the houses with nowhere to escape.
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