Hotel workers' 'absolute terror' at mob violence

Terrified hotel staff stacked furniture against a door as they barricaded themselves against rioters who had smashed their way into the building.

Workers at the Holiday Inn Express in Manvers, Rotherham, told the BBC how they had pushed fridges and other furniture against a door to create the makeshift barrier after a mob surged into the hotel on Sunday.

Twelve police officers were injured as rocks, fence posts and other missiles were thrown, with six people arrested.

People living near the hotel also said rioters broke into their gardens and started fires.

People in the hotel made a temporary barricade using tables and chairs

About 240 asylum seekers who had been staying at the hotel were moved overnight after the clashes between police and a crowd of 700 people.

A shaken hotel worker, who did not want to be identified, described the experience as "absolutely terrifying".

Another man who was in the building as protesters broke in said people were scared for their lives.

Other staff members told friends they were "petrified" and things "went sour fast".

Nobody inside the hotel was injured.

People living nearby told BBC News they had to flee their homes when rioters started fires and broke into their gardens.

Tom Scully, who said this had happened before in previous protests, rescued his pet rabbits from outside in case the fire took hold.

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“That’s when they started ripping all these fences apart and getting into next door’s garden, so I took the kids away and evacuated the house.

“As we were coming out with the kids, one of the neighbours got in the garden to try and hose down the fence to try and keep it from taking.”

Mr Scully's neighbour, Chris Shaw, said rioters stole logs from his property to throw at police.

He said he had been at work at the time, but told his wife to take their cat and leave the property.

Mr Shaw said he was not happy about the asylum seekers living close by, but added that Sunday’s violence was not acceptable.

Tom Scully said he took his children and left the house as the disorder continued

On Monday, South Yorkshire's Assistant Chief Constable Lindsey Butterfield vowed to find those responsible.

She said: "Our police dogs suffered minor injuries after missiles were launched at them, and the horses had bricks, eggs, bottles and beer cans thrown at their heads.

"So far, we have had six arrests - one in Sheffield and five in Rotherham - with one person already charged and will be before the court.

"Please be assured we expect this number to increase significantly over the coming days."

"If you were there, we will find you."

Broken glass covers the floor on Monday morning in the hotel's dining area

Hundreds of people gathered at the Holiday Inn Express in Rotherham on Sunday

More than 250 people have so far been arrested following unrest across England and Northern Ireland which has seen shops and businesses vandalised and looted.

On Saturday, there was unrest in Hull, Liverpool, Bristol, Manchester, Stoke-on-Trent, Blackpool and Belfast.

On Sunday, police responded to violent scenes in others parts of the UK, including Rotherham, Middlesbrough and Bolton.

The violence followed an attack in Southport last week in which three girls aged six, seven and nine were killed and five others left in a critical condition, with two adults also suffering critical injuries.

False claims have spread online that the person responsible was an asylum seeker who had arrived in the UK by boat and a Muslim.

The barricade used chairs and tables from the dining area

Oliver Coppard, the Mayor of South Yorkshire, who is also the county's police and crime commissioner, said the officers who were hurt in Rotherham had suffered "significant injuries", including fractures.

He also praised people who had come out on Monday to help with the clean-up effort.

"I'm really proud of the people that have come out this morning and have done what good people do, which is help," Mr Coppard said.

"We want to come together as community because that's what the vast majority of people in South Yorkshire want."

Emma Rattenbury, from South Yorkshire Migration and Asylum Action Group, went to the initial protest as part of a counter-demonstration.

She said a minority of the crowd were "very angry, fuelled by far-right, fascist propaganda".

"I think there is a wider group of people and they’re the people we need to work with and build relationships with... who are not happy about the situation but who have been directed to address that through racism and anti-migrant rhetoric," she told BBC Radio Sheffield.

"We need to come up with solutions to those things. I do seriously believe the majority of people did not want to see that time of terrible violence, not just in Rotherham, but elsewhere."

A community clean-up was under way on Monday morning

People helped clear things outside the hotel on Monday

Visiting the scene on Monday, Defence Secretary John Healey praised the "massive turnout of local people" to help with the clean-up operation.

He said: "The local community is weighing in now. We've seen hundreds of people down here to help clear up.

"We'll talk to the residents about the damage they have suffered and the trauma they have suffered."

Mr Healey, who is also the Labour MP for Wentworth and Dearne, added: "The police did a really tough job in tough circumstances. I've got nothing but praise for the police officers on the ground."

Mr Healey said the scenes in Rotherham were "on a scale we've not seen before, locally".

"There was no excuse for this. There will be action taken. There will be a reckoning," he said.

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