Clean up operation underway in Hartlepool after riots
A clean-up operation is underway in Hartlepool after disorder broke out in terraced streets close to the town centre.
Council workers were joined by volunteers in sweeping away the debris of bricks and bottles on Thursday morning (1 August) - just hours after the disturbance came to an end.
Staff at a traditional butchers – possibly targeted by yobs who wanted to steal eggs to throw – swept away glass from the badly damaged shop front.
A police car which was destroyed when it was set alight had already been removed from the street where it was torched by 10am.
Eight arrests relating to public order offences were made on Wednesday evening after riots erupted in the town.
Riot police were called in to help to disperse crowds as pockets of unrest broke out at about 6pm.
Officers came under fire from missiles including bricks as they attempted to bring the disorder under control.
At Hartlepool’s International Food Store, Rostam Abdulkadir, a 43-year-old shop worker, said he brought down the shutters as disorder broke out on Wednesday evening.
The father-of-four from Kurdistan, who has lived in the UK for more than two decades, said: “They burned a police car for nothing.
“I don’t have any problem with anyone, I have lived here for 21 years, I respect everyone.
“The excuse (for the disorder) is maybe they don’t like foreign people, so they’re making excuses to attack us.”
A 63-year-old customer, who asked not to be named, said he was worried for the future.
"It seems to me that the world is going to rack and ruin."
Meanwhile, Claire Dickson, 39, said she saw the rioting from her upstairs window.
She said a protest started peacefully “but it just got out of hand” as children and adults threw eggs, bottles and bricks at the police.
She said people shouted the name of right-wing activist Tommy Robinson and “save our children”.
Ms Dickson said a mosque also came under attack as police tried to keep protesters away, adding that she felt compelled to leave the town.
She said she feared there will be further disorder and said she did not feel safe in the town, adding: “If you have been here as long as we have, you will know that this is not the end of it. It will happen again and again.”
Asked how she felt the morning after the violence, she said: “Petrified, I want to move out of the area.”
On Thursday morning, Cleveland Police Federation Chair Paul Crowley condemned the action.
He said: “The disorder seen in Hartlepool last night was utterly deplorable and saw several officers requiring hospital treatment for their injuries.
"Police officers should never have to face such brutality, and every officer deserves to go home safely to their families without fear of suffering serious injury or worse.
"I condemn these disgraceful acts of mindless violence, and we will not rest until those responsible are brought to justice.
"The Cleveland Police Federation will continue to support all officers involved, including those from neighbouring forces."
The meeting on Thursday afternoon comes after scenes of violent unrest elsewhere in London and Manchester overnight while a demonstration in Aldershot saw a tense stand-off with riot police.
The meeting comes as a 17-year-old boy appeared in court accused of the murders the three girls in Southport, Merseyside, on Monday.
Alice Dasilva Aguiar, nine, Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, and Bebe King, six, were fatally stabbed at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class on Hart Street in Southport.
Eight other children suffered knife wounds – with five of them in a critical condition – while two adults were also critically injured.
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