Riots: Police appeal for calm after Bristol disorder

Police in Bristol have appealed for calm after shops were damaged and cars set on fire in disturbances.

Five people were arrested following the unrest on Monday night.

About 200 people were believed to have been involved in the trouble in areas including the city centre and the Cabot Circus and Broadmead areas.

Avon and Somerset Police said more arrests were likely after the violence, which also affected the Stokes Croft and St Werburghs areas.

An Avon Fire and Rescue Service spokesman said the service was called to reports of an incident at Ashfield Young Offenders' Institute, in Pucklechurch, near Bristol at about 19:50 BST on Tuesday.

Crews did not attend but stood by at Kingswood fire station and the incident was dealt with internally, he said.

Serco, which runs the institute, said some boys had refused to go to their rooms and had started fires in the building, but put them out themselves.

'Minor damage'

The Serco spokesman said some minor damage had been caused but the situation had been contained and the centre was secure.

He said negotiators were still talking to about nine boys at about 22:30 BST.

In Bristol, the arrested people were detained in connection with offences including criminal damage, violent disorder and assaulting police officers.

Looting was confined to the Thomas Sabo jewellery store at the Cabot Circus shopping centre, which was damaged during the disturbance and was shut on Tuesday.

Police are appealing for anyone who recognises the people pictured to contact the force

A police spokesman said a group of youths had approached the shop at 02:23 BST and one smashed the window with a hammer before stealing items from the display area.

The spokesman added that officers were scrutinising CCTV in a bid to catch the culprits.

The force has released CCTV images relating to the shop attack and the spokesman appealed for anyone who recognises the people pictured to contact the force.

The violence came as trouble spread across London for a third day and was replicated in cities across England.

Windows at the Tesco Express store in Stokes Croft, the scene of disturbances in April, were damaged but the store was open for business during the day.

On Tuesday evening, the shop was boarded up and a number of riot vans were present in the area.

'Thuggish behaviour'

Twenty-five officers from Dorset Police have been sent to Bristol after a mutual aid request from Avon and Somerset Police.

Officers from Devon and Cornwall Police were also dispatched to the city.

Assistant Chief Constable John Long said the force had worked to "minimise" the disruption on Monday night.

"There had been no information suggesting any specific threat to Bristol in the wake of the scenes witnessed in London over the past few days, although there was always the risk of copycat criminals.

"But thanks to the community-spirited concerns of one individual, we became aware that something was more likely to happen, and responded swiftly to deal with it."

A clean-up operation in the areas affected has been carried out.

"The message from the wider community of Bristol is very clear: this kind of thuggish behaviour is not wanted and will not be tolerated," Assistant Chief Constable Long said.

A Cabot Circus spokesman said earlier that the centre was open for business as usual and was in close contact with police to monitor the situation.

"As a precautionary measure, we have extra security in place for Cabot Circus and our security team is working very closely with the police on this matter," he said.

The spokesman said some stores closed early but the majority had been trading normally.

A Carling Cup football match between Bristol City and Swindon Town that had been due to take place on Tuesday was called off for safety reasons.