Tough in Harold Hill

Interesting comments from Swansea City's Jonjo Shelvey on growing up in Harold Hill in the Guardian recently: 

"Where I grew up, in Harold Hill, it was rough and it still is now. I used to live in a little council flat, next to the shops, and there was always trouble, people getting stabbed. One Christmas I was in the pub with my dad and I looked across and there was a bullet hole in the television. I said: 'Can we go, dad?' My dad still lives in the same place, my mum and my sister live in Brentwood, further out. My sister was pregnant and I didn't want her baby growing up in the same area, so I bought her a house."

He makes it sound like Homs or Aleppo! Know it can be a bit dodgy in Harold Hill, but I managed to grow up near Harold Wood and drink in the King Harold without aggravation. Could he have been laying it on a bit thick for the Guardian journalist?