Arrests made after 'night of chaos' in Leeds
BBC cameras captured the trouble overnight in the Leeds suburb
- Published
Several people have been arrested after violence broke out in a Leeds suburb, police said.
A police car was flipped and a bus was torched in Harehills during the disorder, which broke out at around 17:00 BST on Thursday and continued for several hours.
West Yorkshire Police said a number of people had been held, though it did not specify how many, and said further arrests would be made in the coming days.
The region's mayor, Tracy Brabin, said reassurance patrols would be carried in the area on Friday night and over the weekend to prevent further trouble.
A First bus was destroyed during the trouble on Thursday night
Assistant Chief Constable Pat Twiggs said officers had been called to an address "after social workers reported being met with hostility when dealing with a child protection matter".
He added: "Responding officers were attacked and helped children’s social care staff withdraw to a place of safety.
"As the disorder escalated, damage was caused to vehicles and several fires set."
Mr Twiggs said the decision to withdraw officers from the scene was taken "as it was evident" that police were the "sole target" of the troublemakers.
He added: "This allowed for further community mediation to take place in order to calm the situation.
"Police then returned to the area with fire colleagues to extinguish the remaining fires which were self-contained and didn’t pose a wider risk. By this point the crowd had diminished and officers were able to fully restore order."
Mr Twiggs added: "We will leave no stone unturned in our hunt for all those who were involved."
The violence continued until after midnight
People at the scene used buckets and other containers to help put out fires
At a press conference on Friday afternoon, Mayor Brabin urged for "calm" and asked parents to ensure their children were not out on the streets.
She said: "We know that community members and youth workers and councillors are out and about reassuring people and encouraging them to do the right thing and to stay off the streets."
The press conference heard that Ms Brabin had been involved in an earlier meeting with "key partners" and a plan was being drawn up to keep Harehills safe.
Ms Brabin said: "The imams and the faith leaders are also getting the message out there that we need to stay calm and ensure we don't have what we saw, which was frightening, horrible and unacceptable."
Police cordons remain in place across the area on Friday
Firefighters extinguished the flames in the early hours of the morning
Mehwish Ahmed, who lives on Luxor Street, where the incident started, described children and social workers being removed from a house by police officers.
"Everybody gathered around [the house] and it just got out of control to be honest," she said.
She told the BBC that up to 50 police officers were present as a crowd gathered and became aggressive.
"The crowd just followed from there and that's when it spread onto the other streets," she said.
"I don't think a lot of people knew what was going on either but were obviously just joining in."
Ms Ahmed added: "We've been here for about 11 years but have never seen anything like that before."
Harehills councillor appeal after bus destroyed and police car flipped in Leeds disorder
Mothin Ali, Green Party councillor for Gipton and Harehills, was seen on social media trying to stop troublemakers at the scene and appealed for calm.
Speaking to the BBC at the scene just after midnight, Mr Ali said: "This community is yours. It belongs to us.
"This bus was ours. This library was ours. The traffic lights were ours. We need to take pride in our community and make sure these things can't happen here."
Mr Ali added: "I hope we can really get to the bottom of what's happened. We need real investment in these communities. We need housing looked at properly - we've got some of the poorest quality housing in the country.
"All of these issues lead to people's frustrations, but this is not the way to take it out."
Police asked for people to disperse and go home during the disorder
West Yorkshire Police Federation chairman Craig Nicholls said the resilience of officers in the face of a "night of chaos" was "nothing short of remarkable".
"In the face of aggression and disorder, their quick-thinking and bravery were critical in bringing the situation to a safe conclusion," he said.
"Their actions prevented further escalation and safeguarded the lives of many in the community."
He added: "These officers acted with professionalism and courage, exemplifying the very best of what it means to serve and protect."
Leeds City Council said it was "immensely grateful" to the individuals who stopped the situation from "worsening".
A spokesperson said: "Incidents like this do not reflect Leeds or the Harehills community as a whole.
"Our communities, including the one in Harehills, play a vital role in ensuring collectively we keep our neighbourhoods safe and feeling safe."
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