Riot-hit Citizens Advice may not reopen for year

A Citizens Advice unit where free support was offered to those in financial difficulty was burnt out

A Citizens Advice site which was set on fire during last month's riots may not reopen for another year.

The charity had expanded into a unit next to Sunderland Central police station due to increased demand, but it was burnt out on 2 August.

Its main branch, located further along Waterloo Place, was also damaged and had to close for weeks before being allowed to reopen.

A month on from the violent disorder, manager Denise Irving said she hoped the site would open its doors again, adding: "We have survived this and we can go on and beyond to maintain the service that we give to the community."

The charity, which provides free advice on many problems and receives limited government money, is fundraising to replace lost items, including furniture.

"The whole front of the building is out of bounds, completely burnt out... the stuff upstairs was severely smoke damaged," Ms Irving said.

"We were all gutted, the complete scale of the damage and the fact that we're having to rat around trying to find stuff we can save."

Denise Irving says Citizens Advice continues to offer advice and help from its existing unit

During the disorder, crowds of rioters chanted racial slurs and hurled abuse at passers-by and police officers.

Sunderland University graduate Marvelous Adenekan, originally from Lagos in Nigeria, said she was terrified watching it unfold on social media platform TikTok.

In one video, a group of black passengers could be seen huddled at the front of a bus as rioters appeared to attack the vehicle.

"I prayed it was not me [being attacked]. I’ve stayed here three years and never seen something like this before," she said.

Marvelous Adenekan was left "terrified" watching the disorder unfold on social media

Ms Adenekan said her friends had been fearful of visiting the city in the days after.

"I had friends who were really upset and said they were never going to come out."

However, she said a city-wide clean up - which she participated in - had helped to "restore her faith".

Locals said the violence was not "representative of the people" in the city, and it was a "safe and welcoming" place.

Zaf Iqbal, a faith leader in the city, was gifted a hand-painted picture of a mosque

During the disorder, Zaf Iqbal barricaded himself inside a mosque off Hylton Road as officers trying to protect the area were faced with violence.

He said the support since had been "unbelievable" and he had been inundated with emails, flowers and cards.

He was also gifted a hand-painted landscape of the mosque by Kimberley Warren, a tattoo artist from Hendon.

"It's shown we are one community in Sunderland and we can carry on in unity," he said.

Kimberley Warren said she wanted to show Mr Iqbal that Sunderland was a "safe and welcoming" place

Ms Warren said she was upset after watching a previous BBC interview with Mr Iqbal where he recalled being told he was not English, despite being born in the city.

"I wanted to do a kind gesture," she said.

"I wanted him to know he was welcome in this city... he's from this city, as soon as I heard his voice, I thought 'that's a Mackem'.

"It was really upsetting, especially as a lot of businesses I know had to shut in the days that followed, it was a shame to see my own city being smashed up by idiots."

Several people have been jailed for disorder, which cost businesses hundreds of thousands of pounds and the local force more than £1m to police.

Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner Susan Dungworth has announced a compensation scheme for affected homeowners and businesses to help alleviate some costs.