Terrified residents have taken to the streets of Leeds to defend their homes after ‘violent’ thugs drove riot police out after setting the city ablaze.
Chaos erupted in Harehills, east Leeds early yesterday evening following an outbreak of ‘serious disorder’ that saw bonfires lit across the city, a cop car overturned and a double decker bus torched, reducing it to a charred and twisted wreck.
Community members were forced to plead with the rabble as police, despite having first responded to the disturbance around 5pm last night, remained relatively absent from the mayhem until 1am today.
Green Party councillor Mothin Ali, who after being elected to Leeds Council in May declared his victory a ‘win for the people of Gaza’, begged the rioters to stop, saying ‘there’s children in there’, as fires burned in the streets.
Police and local officials urged residents to stay home as rioters flooded the streets around Harehills and roads were closed off. But hooligans continued to turn up to the area, with many livestreaming footage of the havoc on social media.
The Home Secretary has condemned the ‘shocking scenes and attacks’ in the northern city and West Yorkshire police, which has been accused of intentionally avoiding the riot, vowed that the ‘full weight of the law will be brought against those responsible’
Officers were called to an incident at an address in Luxor Street at 5pm on Thursday where they found an ‘ongoing disturbance’ involving agency workers and children, West Yorkshire Police said.
Locals allege the chaos was linked to local children being taken into care, adding that some people in the community responded by setting fires and ‘throwing stones’.
A large crowd began to gather at the location, prompting the agency workers and children to be taken to a safe place and more officers were requested to attend the area where ‘pockets of disorder’ were emerging.
Livestream footage on social media showed angry rioters setting fire to vehicles, including a public bus.
Other footage showed how the thugs overturned and smashed up a police car with scooters, prams and bikes.
The vehicle was left in the road with its blue lights flashing, sirens blaring, and car alarms going off as crowds of people shouted in the streets.
Locals were also seen running towards a fire started in the middle of the road with a large fridge, which they hurled onto the blaze whilst onlookers cheered.
Source-MailOnline
