Riot sparks poetry collection on value of community

Dominic Nelson-Ashley will perform a collection of poetry composed in the aftermath of violence on Teesside

Last year's riots, which saw cars set alight and police attacked, have sparked a creative response from a North East poet determined to show the value of community.

Trouble broke out across the UK last summer in the wake of the murder of three young girls in Southport at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class.

Dozens of people were arrested in Middlesbrough in early August, with Cleveland Police describing the violence as "staggering".

Reflecting on that violence, Dominic Nelson-Ashley, who has lived in the area for 30 years, has written a poetry collection called Riot Music, which he will perform at the Arc Centre in nearby Stockton on 1 October.

The poetry collection, which is available as a book compilation, also deals with personal subjects such as being a black man raising children in the area.

Mr Nelson-Ashley said the Middlesbrough riot - one of a number triggered by false social media claims that someone who had arrived in the UK illegally was responsible for the stabbing - had "hit close to home".

"The coverage went around the world - it's not a good look for Middlesbrough.

"How are we going to get investment and bring jobs for people if international companies are going to see those pictures?

"We've got to put a different narrative out there.

"As a creative person, my natural thought was that there has to be a creative response to it - so I wrote a poetry collection.

"It deals with the riots, and all the trials and tribulations of integration, standing out, making a contribution - but also the greatness within the community in the North East.

"There's joy," insists the poet.

The riot in Middlesbrough in 2024 brought chaos to those streets where the poet previously lived

Mr Nelson-Ashley recalled seeing images of the violence breaking out, just metres from where he used to live in Middlesbrough town centre.

"I now live in Ingleby Barwick, but where there was an upturned car on fire, I used to be a resident on the street around the corner. It really resonated with me.

"I would have been caught right in the middle of it. It doesn't bear thinking about having young kids around you with that happening.

"How can I put it politely? There are complicated issues, and some people in power give simple answers to complicated issues.

"All we can do is say 'no - we're not having it. This is the real story, this is the community; this is the togetherness'."

In January this year, Axel Rudakubana,18, was jailed for a minimum of 52 years for the "sadistic" murders of Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, Bebe King, six, and Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, in Southport on 29 July 2024.