Harehills: Live as police confirm 'several arrests made' after night of chaos in Leeds area
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Hundreds of people gathered on the streets of Leeds late last night (July 18). Images and videos appear to show a bus and a number of other vehicles on fire.
Police were initially called to Luxor Street in Harehills at around 5pm on Thursday evening after reports of an “ongoing disturbance” involving “agency workers and some children”.
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As tensions escalated, crowds quickly gathered, prompting the force to call for reinforcements.
Following their initial call-out to Luxor Street, police said “more people started to attend the location”.
The force added that “a decision was made to remove the agency workers and the children to a safe place”.
The police statement said that crowds started to gather with “pockets of disorder” as more officers were deployed and road closures were put in place.
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Hide AdIn the aftermath of the chaos, residents told the YEP that they were “heartbroken” and feared Harehills would “never be the same”. Meanwhile, community leaders described the work on the ground to de-escalate the situation through the night.
At a press conference in the city centre this afternoon, the Mayor of West Yorkshire Tracy Brabin urged people to keep their kids at home. She said: “Parents should know where their youngsters are.”
Follow the blog below for the latest updates on this story.
Latest updates after night of chaos and riots in Harehills
Assistant chief addresses withdrawal
Assistant Chief Constable Pat Twiggs said: "We continually assessed the situation and took the decision to deploy specialist public order officers who then came under a barrage of bricks and missiles from a large group.
"A decision was taken to withdraw these officers temporarily as it was evident that the police was their sole target.
"This allowed for further community mediation to take place in order to calm the situation.
"Police then returned to the area with Fire colleagues to extinguish the remaining fires which were self-contained and didn’t pose a wider risk. By this point the crowd had diminished and officers were able to fully restore order.”
Tracy Brabin holds press conference, urging people to stay at home
The Mayor of West Yorkshire Tracy Brabin has used a press conference to urge people to stay at home after last night's disorder.
Speaking to reporters in Wellington House, Mrs Brabin was joined by Alison Lowe, the deputy mayor for policing and crime.
It was explained that they had visited Harehills earlier this afternoon.
She said: "I also want to strongly urge calm and to say to parents: please, please make sure that your youngsters are at home with you and not on the streets."
When asked by the YEP about ongoing concerns in Harehills following the disorder, she said: “I am hoping that the community have realised the consequences of the actions. Obviously, it is a warm evening. But parents should know where their youngsters are.
"We have been talking to community members and councillors, and I’m hoping that it will be calmer this evening."
Read the full story here -
Luxor Street quiet this afternoon
Luxor Street, which is where police confirmed the incident began, was quiet this afternoon with little evidence of any of yesterday’s disorder.
West Yorkshire Police said that officers had been responding to a call from children’s social care at around 5pm as social workers had “reported being met with hostility when dealing with a child protection matter”.
The force said that officers were “attacked”, but managed to help social care staff withdraw to a place of safety.
It is understood that the disorder then escalated, with damage to vehicles and fires being set in Harehills.
Scorched remains of bus dragged away
The scorched remains of a burnt out bus were dragged away earlier this afternoon in Harehills.
Littered with ash and giving off an acrid smell, it was removed from Foundry Approach by specialist teams with the aid of officers.
Crowds of people gathered at the perimeter of a police cordon to watch as it made its slow exit from the scene.