'Damage is not a solution, education is a must'

Business owners in Harehills are counting the cost of last week's disorder

A week on from the disorder in Harehills that resulted in a double decker bus being set alight, a police car being flipped and multiple arrests, the BBC spoke to people living and working in the area to find out whether the trouble had left a lasting mark.

Miller Owolo Kadiri owns an off-licence on Foundry Approach, just feet away from where a double-decker bus was set on fire during the disorder last week.

The sign above his shop has been blackened by smoke.

Fearful of looting, Mr Kadiri locked up his business of 12 years and went home when he saw the crowds approaching from Harehills Lane on the evening of 18 July.

The 54-year-old says he still feels "shocked and depressed" about what happened.

"I have never experienced such a situation since I have been here," he says.

"What happened doesn't warrant destroying public properties, destroying police vehicles, causing a lot of danger."

Mr Kadiri says people living in the tightly-packed terraced houses on the street behind his shop "were running out of their houses" to escape the fire.

Thankfully, no-one is believed to have been hurt.

"The police have to make the necessary measures preventing this happening again," he says.

"It's not called for, this situation."

There are few physical signs now of the chaos that took place.

Normality has resumed in this corner of Leeds, with businesses open as usual and people busy going about their everyday lives.

Mr Kadiri locked his business up because he feared looting

Local people say police flooded the streets in the days following the trouble but there were no officers in sight when the BBC visited on Friday morning.

A shop owner on Harehills Lane, who wished to remain anonymous through fear of reprisals, explained that he had become "used to it" - in reference to both the absence of police and the disorder.

"It has happened before. To us, it's just another time here.

"Harehills is quite a resilient community," he adds stoically, seemingly eager to get on with his tasks.

Police say they have identified 40 suspects from the disorder with a number of arrests taking place already.

Three men have been arrested and charged with arson in relation to the fire which destroyed the double decker bus.

A local resident, who also asked not to be named, told me she feels the whole event was "blown out of proportion" by the media.

"A little bonfire got shown all over the world. It wasn't even a riot, nothing got broken and all the shops were fine."

Asked why she thought an initial disturbance related to a child protection issue led to hundreds taking to the streets, the woman says "people have had enough".

"It's always them against us."

Little physical signs of last week's trouble in Harehills remain

Not everyone feels the same way.

John White, who runs a domestic appliance repairs business on Harehills Lane, condemned those responsible and complained of a lack of community cohesion.

"From a business point of view it has affected the area because the elderly don't want to come in," he says.

"I was called at home to ask if I could pick stuff up rather than them coming into the area because of what's happened."

Mr White, 60, says he knows of a 95-year-old woman who had been "upstairs in her bedroom crying" in fear of what was going on before her eyes last Thursday.

"It's not good for business and I can't understand why they are ruining their own areas."

The former serviceman praised the police for their response despite criticism in some quarters over their decision to withdraw from the area as tensions rose.

"It's better sometimes to come away from confrontation rather than antagonise the situation."

"There's no point escalating things by having a hard approach to it."

Mr White says business has suffered in the aftermath of the disorder

Saad Siddique owns a phone repair shop on Harehills Lane and explained what happened had also been "really hard" for his business.

After discovering his bins had been set on fire and having to install a steel gate to protect the rear of his premises, he estimates takings were as low as £30 per day over the next three days.

Trade has yet to pick up to previous levels, adds the 33-year-old.

Mr Siddique has lived in Harehills with his partner Sidra for seven years and the couple have four children together.

The family home is just a short distance from where the unrest began.

Fresh from fixing a phone for a customer, he tells us he initially tried to stop the disorder.

But, met with what he described as aggression, he shut his shop and went home.

"What happened isn't acceptable," says Mr Siddique, who is hopeful the ugly scenes might trigger some positive change.

Mr Siddique's bins were set alight during the trouble

He says the authorities "were trying to help" and believes young people and their parents must take their share of responsibility for what happened.

"You can protest, but in a peaceful way," he adds.

"You don't have the right to do these things - burning a bus, attacking police, attacking people.

"Damage is not a solution, education is a must."

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