Sunderland Riots: Locals join clean-up operation after far-right disorder in city centre

Watch Kris Jepson's report on the clean up after a night of riots in Sunderland

Residents have gathered together to clean up the destruction left behind after violent riots took hold of the city.

Unrest had broken out across the city centre in Sunderland on Friday night (2 August).

Hundreds of locals came together this morning, working their way through the streets, to clean up the mess.

Many were spotted with bin bags, dustpans and brushes, in hand, since sunrise.

The clean-up operation underway. Credit: ITV Tyne Tees

One resident told ITV Tyne Tees they had been there since 6:00 in the morning helping to tidy the chaos.

As huge groups of local people walked through the city, clearing up debris, "This is the true Sunderland" someone told us.

The manger of the Citizens Advice building that was set alight last night said they were "devastated" and that they are now trying to figure out how to help the people they were supposed to see.

Pictures on X showed the Citizens Advice building on fire. Credit: X

Sunderland Central Labour MP Lewis Atkinson said a link could be drawn between the disorder in his constituency on Friday, and the ashes of the English Defence League (EDL), which was founded by Tommy Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley Lennon.

The EDL has disbanded but its supporters remain active, and Mr Atkinson said evidence suggested a Nazi offshoot of the group was involved in the violence in his constituency on Friday night which saw a police station torched and a local mosque attacked.

Windows had been smashed in, building and cars set alight, following the riots. Credit: ITV Tyne Tees

Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner Susan Dungworth said last nights events had been "inexcusable criminality."

“Violence, looting, vandalism - all this is not protesting; it’s criminal behaviour. It’s also not mourning the loss of innocent children in Southport. The families of those victims have not been given a second thought - they have been used, sickeningly, to promote the extreme agenda of those causing trouble.

“This isn’t about ‘taking our country back’ as so-called protesters claim. Their violent hatred fuelled behaviours only bring our country down and create division, fear and conflict.

“We will continue to work together to do all we can - determined to keep our streets safer and communities stronger," she said.

Cars were set on fire, as seen in a video published on social media. Credit: X

Rioters battled police following a planned protest on Friday evening, linked to the Southport knife attack.

Hundreds of people gathered in Keel Square, many of them draped in England flags.

Members of the crowd chanted in support of Tommy Robinson. Others shouted Islamophobic rants.

Mounted police followed the march, along with officers in vans who fought their way through traffic to keep up.

Violent scenes in Sunderland on Friday resulted in four officers being injured Credit: Scott Heppell/PA

Some protesters descended into violence, setting an overturned car on fire, while others targeted a mosque.

Police in protective gear came under sustained attack as rioters set off fire extinguishers on them on High West Street.

There was also a standoff between police and protesters outside a mosque on Sunderland’s St Mark’s Road.

Police in riot gear came under attack with stones and beer cans thrown at them.

People protest in Sunderland city centre Credit: Scott Heppell/PA

Northumbria Police's Police and Crime Commissioner, Susan Dungworth, posted a statement on social media, saying she is "absolutely appalled" by the events on Wearside.

Her post on Instagram added: "It's absolutely right that those responsible for this criminal activity face the full force of the law. Using the pretence of speaking for the grieving families in Southport is sickening, and doesn't mask the criminality of these shameful behaviours.

"Let's be absolutely clear, violence and disorder do not represent Sunderland or belong in our communities and never will."

Disorder has hit parts of England this week, including in Hartlepool, London, Manchester and Southport, after the killing of three young girls at a Taylor Swift-themed holiday club in Merseyside on Monday.

Axel Muganwa Rudakubana, 17, from Lancashire, is accused of the attack, but false claims spread online that the suspect was an asylum seeker who had arrived in the UK by boat.

Further misinformation spread online about Rudakubana's religion, which sparked additional far-right hatred.

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