Several arrests made after night of trouble in Harehills, Leeds
Hundreds of people in street as double decker bus torched and police car flipped
Violence sparked by local authority care workers removing children from an address
Police say no-one believed to have been injured but is being treated as "serious public order incident"
Home secretary says "full force of law" to be used
Richard Burgon, MP for Leeds East, said local residents have told him they are "devastated" by the events in Harehills.
"So many good people worked together to try to calm things and reduce disorder in the community they care about so much," he said.
"They are unsung heroes in our community."
PA Media
One woman, who asked not to be named, told the PA Media news agency she was walking a friend home in Harehills on Thursday night when she heard bangs coming from the bus that had been set on fire and started having a panic attack.
Her friend said: “I was scared they were going to come up our street, torch all the cars and maybe my house.”
Labour councillor for Gipton and Harehills, Salma Arif, has been on radio station LBC.
She says the events of last night were not linked to the ethnicity or religious beliefs of some of the people involved.
She says it was an "isolated family incident" that led to "spontaneous" disorder.
She says among the large crowds that gathered at the scene were also people trying to defuse the situation.
Leeds City Council leader James Lewis says last night's disorder was not a reflection of Harehills.
Speaking on BBC Radio Leeds, he says: "This is not a regular happening in Leeds, it's not the face of Harehills.
"It's a diverse community, lots of work goes on there to make it a strong and brilliant community and that's what we need to be working on in the days and weeks ahead."
Green Party councillor Mothin Ali, who attended the scene on Thursday night and attempted to calm the situation, has been speaking to BBC Look North in Harehills.
He told reporters how he and others tried to protect officers.
"We were trying to shelter the police, act as human shields for the police because they were there without helmets, without shields, being pelted with bricks and bottles so we were trying to calm people down and act as a protective barrier."
He says while the local police team was "absolutely fantastic", the decision to withdraw may not have been the right one.
He adds: "The idea was not to try and antagonise things, to let things fizzle out.
"In hindsight we could criticise that but at the time when they're making the decision, it's tough.
"I don't know who was in charge but I'd like to speak to them."
Image source, ReutersHome Secretary Yvette Cooper has described last night's events in Harehills as "disgraceful" in a statement on Friday morning.
“Those responsible must face the full force of the law and West Yorkshire Police have my support in pursuing the perpetrators and taking the strongest possible action against them," she said.
“Local partners are meeting this morning and the police, the mayor and local councillors will be working closely with the community to provide support and reassurance and prevent further disturbances.
“Where there are incidents of disorder or unrest in communities, there is a responsibility on everyone to support the local agencies and residents who are working to resolve problems and prevent escalation.
"They have my support in their local work to provide a calm and firm response.”
BBC Radio 5 Live spoke to Ian who was has lived in Harehills for more than 60 years,
Talking about last night, the 64-year-old says "It was very opportunistic and very frightening at the time."
"I want out and my neighbours want out basically," Ian said.
"It's not a particularly good area to be in, frankly."
Image source, YappAppWest Yorkshire Police Federation chairman Craig Nicholls has described events in Harehills as an "appalling breakdown of social order that left many in shock and fear".
Mr Nicholls said: "This disorder was utterly unacceptable and underscores the unpredictable challenges faced by our officers daily.
"What should have been a standard duty quickly turned into a night of chaos, highlighting the need for robust support and resources for those tasked with maintaining public safety.
"Despite the conditions, the resilience of our colleagues 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."
Double decker bus set on fire amid disorder in Harehills, Leeds
First Bus confirmed one of the company's vehicles was set on fire with another caught up in the chaos.
A spokesperson for the company in Leeds said on Thursday: "Two of our vehicles have been caught up in the public disorder in the Harehills area of Leeds this evening.
"We can confirm that both drivers are unhurt and we have no reports of injuries to passengers.
"One of our vehicles has been set on fire but was empty as the customers had earlier been transferred to another bus together with the driver."
The spokesperson said all services had been diverted from the area caught up in disorder.
Here's further photos from the scene late last night and in the early hours of the morning by BBC camera operator Dan Nelson.
Image source, BBC/Dan NelsonWest Yorkshire Police appealed for people to stay at home during the trouble
Image source, BBC/Dan NelsonFirst bus confirmed no-one was hurt when one of their vehicles was destroyed
Image source, BBC/Dan NelsonFirefighters arrived and completely extinguished the bus fire
A man who has lived on in Harehills for 24 years says that "everything kicked off" in the early evening.
The area was at the centre of the disturbances on Thursday, with a double decker bus being torched just around the corner from the man's home.
The charred remains of the bus on Foundry Approach is acting as a focal point for people to gather on Friday morning.
"We've lived here for 24 years and we've never had this before," he said.
"I don't know what it started it off, but it doesn't take much to get it going."
He said "it's terrible" and "there's got to be a reason for it but I just don't know".
Image source, YappAppWest Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service says it was not safe to send crews to Harehills in the early evening on Thursday.
A double decker bus was torched and a number of other fires were lit.
Footage on social media shows local people attempting to extinguish them.
"After evaluating the situation and considering the potential danger to our fire crews, it was determined that it was not safe to put out the fires," a spokesperson says.
"We want to assure the public that we were ready to respond promptly if lives or homes were in danger."
The fire service thanked local community leaders who intervened, adding crews extinguished the fires later that evening.
Image source, YappAppA woman who lives close to where the incident broke out said she was "proud" of the police during the trouble.
"I'm so proud they stayed really calm, otherwise the situation would have been worse," she said.
West Yorkshire Police urged people to go home following the incident escalating last night.
A spokesperson said they believe it was "instigated by a criminal minority intent on disrupting community relations".
Mayor of West Yorkshire Tracy Brabin says she was appalled by the violence.
She says this type of criminal behaviour will not be tolerated and urged the public to refrain from speculating.
She adds: "I am relieved that nobody was seriously hurt in this incident - we will provide any support we can to the people of Harehills following the violence perpetrated in their community."
BBC camera operator Dan Nelson was in Harehills as disturbances broke out and he remained there through the night, capturing the images below.
Image source, BBC/Dan NelsonA bus was completely destroyed during the trouble in Harehills
Image source, BBC/Dan NelsonResidents used containers of water to attempt to extinguish fires
Image source, BBC/Dan NelsonBuckets of water were brought to the scene to douse the fire
Image source, BBC/Dan NelsonDisturbances broke out after police were called to an incident at 17:00 BST on Thursday
Steve Jones
in Harehills
A woman who lives close to where the incident started described children and social workers being removed from a house there by police officers.
"Everybody gathered around [the house] and it just got out of control to be honest," she said.
The woman told the BBC that up to 50 police officers were present as a crowd gathered and became aggressive.
She said: "The crowd just followed from there and that's when it spread onto the other streets.
"I don't think a lot of people knew what was going on either but were obviously just joining in.
"We've been here for about 11 years but have never seen anything like that before.
"I've got three kids as well so it was a bit upsetting and distressing for them as well."
Those who caused trouble in a Leeds suburb on Thursday have damaged the community says a Leeds councillor.
Residents were warned to stay indoors in Harehills on Thursday evening in what West Yorkshire Police described as a "serious disorder incident".
Gipton and Harehills councillor Mothin Ali, who was seen on video trying to reason with people on the street, said: "These kind of things can't happen here."
Harehills councillor appeal after bus destroyed and police car flipped in Leeds disorder
Tom Ingall
Journalist, BBC Look North
I first drove in to Harehills at about midnight, the cordon had been lifted on Harehills Lane but hundreds of people were still around.
Two fires were still burning at the time – one a double decker bus and a bonfire of rubbish in the street.
The road was littered with bricks and broken glass on the floor, but the overall mood seemed calm.
Community leaders and others were using buckets and bins full of water to put out the fires.
Several people at the scene overnight told me it was sparked by local children being taken into custody by the local authority.
As dawn broke on Friday and the clean-up continues, with little remaining of the burnt-out bus.
Questions will now need to be answered about how the situation escalated.
Leeds City Council's chief executive Tom Riordan has been speaking to Radio 4's Today programme.
He says that the disorder was triggered by a family incident.
He says footage of the unrest was "shocking" and those responsible will need to feel "the full force of the law".
"When you see the pictures on social media it looks shocking, but there were lots of people in the community there observing and trying to calm things.
"This is not a community where this happens regularly. This is a very diverse community that generally gets on well."
Mr Riordan says he expects arrests to take place in coming days.
As dawn broke in Harehills crews were already on site to extinguish any remaining fires and begin cleaning away debris from Thursday night's disturbances.
