TEN years ago this weekend rioting erupted on a rundown Tyneside estate when hundreds of youths went on the rampage.

Things could not have looked bleaker for Meadowell in North Shields, where crime-hit residents had all but given up contacting the police or asking the council to carry out essential repairs.

But today the estate's fortunes have changed beyond recognition, with crime down and new housing selling at profit.

As residents recalled the riots, community leaders reflected last night on the changes wrought with their full involvement, following cash injections worth millions of pounds.

Meadowell Resource Centre project manager Carol Bell, who was awarded the MBE for her work in the community, said: "There is still a lot of work to be done, but the estate has been transformed. It is a nice place to live now.

"For one, where before there were no cars parked in the streets here, we now have car ownership.

"And new houses are being built and sold and resold at a profit, with many returning to the estate."

North Tyneside Council Bidding Unit team leader Alan Robson, was in the process of putting together an estate action bid for cash for part of the estate when the riots broke out.

Following recriminations and counter-recriminations, between the local authority and central government, the council was invited to put in a bid for all the estate's 1,900 houses.

Mr Robson said: "Bearing in mind that 78 per cent of residents were on some form of benefit we felt if we could make houses more energy efficient they would have more disposal income.

"All houses now have double glazing, and wall cavity and loft insulation bringing down bills by up to 30 per cent."

"Where the estate was once open plan, environmental improvements mean that all properties now have a defensible space with brick walls and wrought iron gates and fencing.

"As well, all rat runs have been designed out, with opportunities for the estate roads to be used as race tracks taken away. And all houses now have burglar alarms."

Councillor Rita Stringfellow, North Tyneside Council leader and Meadowell Ward representative for 25 years, said: "A lot of the change has been brought about because of the openness, honesty and trust within the community and across all the agencies involved in the regeneration.

"There is a completely different feel about the place now. Apart from the physical improvements, people have a much higher confidence and feeling of self worth."