Kris Bramwell
BBC News UGC team

I've just spoken to someone who lives in the area where the violence broke out last night. He wants to stay anonymous.

"I’d driven to see my mum and drove my car through a mob of angry people," he says.

"They weren't from Southport, you could tell from their accents. A lot of the people who were there were there to cause trouble. They were wearing masks. It was a free for all.

"The robbed a shop down the road. They knocked my wall down to get the bricks to use as missiles.

"They stood on cars. They were taking for sale signs from people's gardens and using them as missiles.

"I wasn't going to let them attack my house, that’s why I was stood on the drive. I feel sorry for the emergency services because they were in the thick of it."

Image source, EPA

The chairman of the Merseyside Police Federation says it is "utterly disgusting" that more than 50 police officers were injured last night.

Chris McGlade says his "brave" colleagues sustained fractures, lacerations, a suspected broken nose and concussion.

The number of injured is higher than earlier reports of 39 injuries, with 27 officers taken to hospital.

McGlade adds that those involved will be "brought to justice for their actions".

Despite the suspect for Monday's stabbings having no known links to Islam, rioters in Southport targeted the local mosque last night.

Ibrahim Hussain, the chairman of the Southport Mosque, called it a "frightening" evening.

"We lived happily for about 30 years with the local community," he tells our colleagues on BBC Radio 4's Today programme. "We have absolutely nothing to do with all this."

He says rioters smashed all of the windows and burned the mosque's fences, while screaming and chanting.

But Hussain says he received "beautiful messages of support" from the local community - and thanked the police for their efforts to control the situation.

Image source, PA Media

The mother of one of the girls killed in Monday's attack condemned the violence in Southport last night, the Liverpool Echo reports.

"This is the only thing that I will write, but please stop the violence in Southport tonight," Jenni Stancombe, mother of Elsie, reportedly wrote on social media last night.

"The police have been nothing but heroic these last 24 hours and they and we don't need this."

Our colleagues on Radio 5 Live earlier spoke to the Merseyside Police and Crime Commissioner, Emily Spurrell.

She says the rioters were from "out of town" - something local MP Patrick Hurley also said earlier.

"These individuals came into Southport, did not reflect the local population, and used the incident to incite violence and hatred, and it’s absolutely not something the people of Southport want or the families want," she says.

She adds: "My understanding from local people on the ground is that these were not local residents, these were individuals that came from out of town who had been stirred up online by the likes of the EDL [English Defence League], just looking for a fight."

Image source, PA Media

Nicky Schiller
Reporting from Southport

I'm on the corner of Sussex Road and St Luke's Road watching a huge community effort to clean up the area after last night's violence.

There are a group of locals with brushes and brooms trying to clear up some of the debris. I heard one women say the dust that's lingering in the air "gets down your throat".

There are diggers and trucks being used to move some of the rubble, and all along the two streets, people are out doing what they can to clear up.

We've seen offers of help posted on social media from local businesses. This really feels like the people of Southport once again coming together.

Our team in Southport took this picture this morning of debris that had been swept-up following last night's riot.

Overnight, Merseyside Police Assistant Chief Constable Alex Goss said: "Sadly, offenders have destroyed garden walls so they could use the bricks to attack our officers and have set cars belonging to the public on fire, and damaged cars parked in the mosque car park.

"This is no way to treat a community, least of all a community that is still reeling from the events of Monday."

We reported earlier that 39 police officers were injured last night, with 27 taken to hospital.

Merseyside Police says eight sustained "serious injuries including fractures, lacerations, a suspected broken nose and concussion".

Others suffered "head injuries, serious facial injuries and one was knocked unconscious".

"The people involved have also set cars belonging to members of the public alight, thrown bricks at the local mosque and damaged a local convenience store, and set wheelie bins were set on fire," the police statement says.

Three police dogs were also injured, having had bricks thrown at them.

Helena Rothman
Reporting from Southport

We took these pictures on Sussex Road in Southport this morning.

Image source, PA Media

Local councillor Mike Sammon saw the riot outside his home in Southport.

He says he saw a large number of people "many wearing masks and balaclavas" arrive in the street.

"Within minutes, I heard a loud bang, I think someone had thrown a brick at the mosque," he tells BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

"Then they charged [at] the police. I was really worried for the police, that they needed more support."

Image source, EPA

Last night's rioters must face the "full force of the law", Southport MP Patrick Hurley says.

Hurley tells the Today programme people "were using the horrific incident on Monday, the deaths of three little kiddies, for their own political purposes".

The window of a mosque was damaged last night - see the picture above - and Hurley condemns what he calls the "beered-up thugs" responsible.

Hurley says "even if [the suspect] turns out to be Muslim, under no circumstances does that justify any attack on a mosque by anybody at all".

Image source, PA Media

Here's the latest statement from the North West Ambulance Service about last night's violence.

"NWAS stood down from major incident at 01:25 on Wednesday 31 July.

"We treated 39 patients in total, all of which were police officers. 27 were taken to hospital and 12 were treated and discharged at scene.

"A small number of resources will remain at the scene on St Luke’s Road to continue to support police colleagues.

"We'd like to thank the many NWAS staff and other emergency service colleagues who have worked extremely hard over the last few hours in response to the disturbance."

Image source, PA

The people who rioted in Southport last night were "were thugs who’d got the train in", not residents, local MP Patrick Hurley says.

Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme this morning, Hurley says they were "utterly disrespecting the families of the dead and injured children, and utterly disrespecting the town".

For those people to attack the first responders who had been on the scene on Monday with bricks, Hurley says, "there is no way to describe this - other than to say it is utterly reprehensible".

"The people of Southport will stand against that," he says.

Thirty-nine police officers were injured during violence in Southport last night, less than two days after three girls were killed in a dance class in the town.

The violence came after hundreds of people attended a peaceful vigil to remember those who were killed.

We'll have more on last night's violence, and the investigation into Monday's deadly attacks, on this page. Stay with us.