A bus was set on fire and a police car was flipped over as disorder erupted in Leeds.
Hundreds of people gathered in the Harehills area, and police are dealing with an “ongoing situation,” leading to the deployment of riot police.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper expressed her shock at the unrest, described by officers as “pockets of disorder.” Councillor Salma Arif has urged people to stay at home.
Livestream footage on social media showed vehicles on fire, including a bus, but no injuries have been reported.
At 5pm on Luxor Street, officers responded to a “disturbance” involving agency workers and some children. West Yorkshire Police said the crowds began to gather, and both the agency workers and children were moved to a safe place. However, the situation escalated into the disorder seen later.
Images from the scene show a fire in the middle of a street, with crowds of hundreds gathered.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said she was “appalled at the shocking scenes and attacks on police vehicles and public transport in Leeds tonight.”
Barriers have been set up along the street where the disorder is centered, and videos on social media show a police drone in the air and some people throwing objects.
Leeds police said:
At 5pm today (Thursday), police were called to an ongoing incident at an address in Luxor Street, Harehills.
Officers attended and found an ongoing disturbance which involved some agency workers and some children.
More people started to attend the location and a decision was made to remove the agency workers and the children to a safe place.
A crowd started to gather and more officers were requested to attend the area, where some pockets of disorder were occurring.
More officers have been deployed to the area to assist with the management of this incident. Some road closures are also being implemented and people are advised to avoid the area at this time.
No injuries have been reported and enquiries are ongoing at the scene.