Harehills: 'Several arrests made' with warning of increased police presence after night of disorder in Leeds
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Hundreds of people gathered on the streets of Leeds late last night (July 18), with footage showing a bus and a number of other vehicles burning.
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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Hide AdIn a statement, assistant Chief Constable Pat Twiggs, confirmed that “several arrests have been made” in relation to the disorder and “further arrests will be made over the next few days.”


He said: “There has understandably been a great deal of speculation, commentary and concern following the disorder in Harehills, Leeds, overnight.
“Our officers responded to a call from Children’s Social Care at around 5pm yesterday (Thursday 18 July) after social workers reported being met with hostility when dealing with a child protection matter.
“Responding officers were attacked and helped Children’s Social Care staff withdraw to a place of safety. As the disorder escalated, damage was caused to vehicles and several fires set.
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Hide Ad"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.
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Hide Ad"Throughout the night several arrests were made in relation to the disorder and further arrests will be made over the next few days.
"The force Major Enquiry Team have launched an investigation which will include reviewing CCTV and social media footage and images to identify the perpetrators.
"We will leave no stone unturned in our hunt for all those who were involved and will work closely with our criminal justice partners to bring them to justice."
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Hide AdAnyone who may have filmed any of the disorder is asked to upload any footage via the dedicated Public Portal.
A Major Incident Portal has been created where anyone with information, photos, video footage (including dashcam or doorbell footage) in relation to the disorder can submit it through this link: Public Portal (mipp.police.uk).
Anyone with any information can contact the force under Op Jerviswick or call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.