UK: Loot, vandalism spreads to Manchester, Birmingham, quiet in London

Mtoday news / NDTV

London, Aug 10: Fresh violence flared around the United Kingdom as parts of the West Midlands and Manchester came under siege from a series of copy-cat riots overnight.

In shocking scenes, children as young as nine were seen taking part in the large-scale looting of shops and businesses in Manchester, The Daily Mail reported.

The disorder came as 16,000 police officers have been deployed on London’s streets in a bid to contain a fourth night of violence which spiralled out of control across dozens of London suburbs yesterday.

Disorder and looting has rocked parts of Manchester particularly, although there has also been violence in Wolverhampton, West Bromwich, Nottingham, Leicester and Liverpool - although police appear to be containing the unrest.

But in what was by far the most serious incident of the night three men died in Birmingham after they were hit by a car.

West Midlands Police is also currently investigating reports that shots have been fired at a police officer just outside Birmingham city centre, thought to be in the Aston area, according to Sky.

 

None of the violence has escalated in the same way as it did in London last night. The capital has remained relatively calm tonight.

So far, 109 people have been arrested in the West Midlands, 108 in Manchester and Salford, and 44 in and around Liverpool.In Bristol there were 19 arrests for offences, including having a balaclava in your possession.

There was also a large blaze at a derelict art college in Gloucester, with several smaller fires, while police also dealt with small groups who attacked them.

In Birmingham mobs rampaged through the city centre but unlike the previous night’s riots, when shops were looted, the gangs mainly wreaked destruction, set fire to cars and attempted to provoke police.

Rioters continually regrouped and dispersed, forcing police to chase them. Crowds of around 500 assembled in the centre of Birmingham and the atmosphere quickly turned menacing.

During the disturbances three men - two brothers and a friend - were involved in a hit-and-run incident in which two were killed and one critically injured, apparently after just leaving a mosque.

’The incident occurred just after 1am in Dudley Road. Three men were taken to hospital where two subsequently died from their injuries. A third male remains in a critical condition.

’West Midlands Police have launched a murder inquiry, arrested one man in connection with the incident and recovered a vehicle from near the scene which will be examined by forensics experts.’

Police appealed for witnesses or anyone with information to come forward.

A relative of one of the dead men victims told Sky News this morning: ’They were not in the way or blocking the road. The car swerved towards them.’

He said that the three had been on the street protecting their business - a car wash - after violence the previous night, when two cars swerved on to the pavement and struck them.

The three were taken to Birmingham City Hospital, where a large crowd gathered this morning at around 5.45am and police in riot gear stood guard at the main entrance, according to the BBC.

Youths also stormed Tesco, the post office, Marks & Spencer and House of Fraser and smoke poured from a flaming car blocking views of the city’s iconic Selfridges building.

Meanwhile in London the situation was calmer compared to last night’s violence which spread across dozens of suburbs.

However, there were small pockets of violence in Canning Town and Enfield, while there was a fire at a council recycling centre in Tottenham. The borough of Eltham also saw more than 200 people take to the streets.

In Manchester, about 100 yobs have looted shops including Foot Asylum in the Arndale Centre and Liam Gallagher’s recently opened fashion boutique in King Street had its windows smashed.

A marauding gang of up to 200 youths, most of them masked or wearing hoodies, fought a running battle with police, kicking in windows of supermarkets, jewellery stores and mobile phone shops.

The violence followed the arrest of 10 youths earlier in the evening after a small group of people got on to the roof of one of the buildings at Nottingham High School.

In another incident two men, aged 17 and 18, were also arrested earlier after rocks were thrown at Bulwell Police Station.

The force later said, via its official Twitter feed, that the fire had been extinguished, with the scene being preserved for forensic evidence.

It said at least eight people have been arrested in connection with the firebombing.

Gloucester saw its first night of violence when a fire was started at a derelict art college in the city.

Eight engines were in attendance at the scene, while an aerial platform ladder unit was also used to help tackle the fire.

Officers were hindered by the fact that they could not access the building due to it being derelict, but they had managed to contain the fire to a small area of the building.

Across the city, police and fire crews also had to deal with other small fires in bins, while police came under attack from youths throwing bottles.

A police statement said that support from neighbouring forces included mounted officers, while the force helicopter was in use.

Gloucestershire Police said a total of nine men were arrested following disorder in Gloucester.