Harehills residents condemn ‘out of control’ disorder

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Harehills residents condemn ‘out of control’ disorder

9 minutes ago

By Steve Jones, BBC News

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Police at the scene in Harehills on Friday morning

Situated less than two miles from Leeds city centre, the working-class suburb of Harehills is made up of tightly packed red-bricked terrace houses and a diverse population.

The streets were remarkably calm when the neighbourhood began waking up on Friday morning.

Just hours previously, hundreds of people had flooded the area’s main road, Harehills Lane, with police vehicles damaged and a double-decker bus torched.

The remnants of the bus were still smoking on Friday morning, with a small crowd gathered around a police cordon on Foundry Approach.

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Hundreds swarmed the streets of Harehills on Thursday evening

That location is almost half a mile from where the trouble began, on Luxor Street, showing how far it had spread before it began to calm at around midnight.

The main target appeared to be police, with no apparent damage to businesses, homes or regular vehicles.

Residents who witnessed the disorder claimed opportunists soon took hold following the initial incident at about 17:00 BST.

By the time the bus was set alight, at about 21:00 BST, “anything in sight went on it”, one witness said.

Chairs and wheeled bins were among the items thrown onto what had become a bonfire.

Another person described what she saw as “shocking”, while a business owner labelled it “disgusting” and said she was scared to open on Friday through ***** of more trouble.

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The burnt-out bus was still smoking on Friday morning

On Luxor Street, there was no sign of the trouble which triggered the unrest.

Mother-of-three Mehwish Ahmed, who lives on the road, told the BBC her family became aware of disorder when they heard a commotion outside.

Her youngest son, aged seven, had been “terrified”.

West Yorkshire Police said they were called to the street amid a disturbance at a domestic property “which involved some agency workers and some children”.

Once they arrived, Ms Ahmed said the situation quickly got “out of control”.

“I think there were about 50 police officers on this street trying to get everybody out [of the house].”

The crowd followed a police van onto Harehills Lane, where the disorder began to spread, she added.

“I don’t think a lot of people knew what was going on either, but obviously joined in.

“I have got three kids as well, it was a bit distressing for them.”

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Police have thanked community members who tried to quell the trouble

Some residents criticised the police response.

But one resident on Luxor Street said she was “so proud they stayed really calm, otherwise the situation would have been worse”.

On Broughton Terrace, which backs on to Foundry Approach, one man said he had never seen anything like Thursday night’s scenes in his 24 years living in Harehills.

The area was “generally OK”, he added, the smell of burning smoke still hanging in the air.

“I don’t know what started it off, but it doesn’t take much to get it going.

“It’s terrible.”

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