Public meeting in Armley after racist attack on Polish man

Leeds Stand Up to Racism held a rally in Briggate, Leeds, to show their support of migrants and refugees in the wake of an attack on a 28-year-old Polish man in Armley.

The 28-year-old man suffered head injuries during an assault by a group of up to 30 in what police say was a racist attack in Alliance Street, Armley, on September 9.

Representatives from community group All Together Armley, Leeds City Council and West Yorkshire Police are due to be at the public meeting at Armley Library from 6pm on Tuesday October 4.

Gudrun Shemlit, chair of All Together Armley, said: “It’s more of a listening exercise. We want to hear from people who are living here to find out what they feel and what they think about community tensions and cohesion.

“Are we getting on well as a community or are there things that we need to address?

“The feedback we have been getting is that people are concerned. It has caused a lot of fear, which is the main thing we need to address. “

Coun Alison Lowe (Lab/Armley), said: “There are tensions in Armley and we know that people feel strongly about the changing face of Town Street.

“It’s about how do we deal with where we are now. How do we make it safe for everybody?” Coun Lowe added: “We want to work with people to come up with ideas to strengthen relations between different communities.”

Police investigating the attack on September 9 have arrested and bailed a total of nine youths aged between 13 and 17.

Earlier this month around 200 people attended a Leeds Stand up to Racism rally in Leeds city centre to spread a multicultural message of support for migrants and refugees living in the city.