'They were out to destroy' - Middlesbrough reels from weekend of violence

Violent, far-right rioters who descended on Middlesbrough over the weekend "were out to destroy" - according to a faith leader.

Unrest broke out in the town over the weekend following similar unrest across the country and North East including in Hartlepool and Sunderland.

Many who woke up to the damage this morning were emotional as they spoke to our reporter Gregg Easteal.

Protests came after the deaths of three girls in a mass stabbing at a children's dance class in Southport, Merseyside, one week ago.

Violent riots were sparked following misinformation about the stabbing suspect's identity shared on social media.

Haji Jaber, from the Islamic Society of Cleveland, said he was "gutted" by the scenes of violence on Sunday and destruction left in Middlesbrough.

Faith leader Haji Jaber said rioters "destroyed" the town

Mr Jaber said: "What got me upset yesterday - and it got me close to tears - was I was born in Middlesbrough in 1964, I’ve been here close enough to 60 years - born and bred.

"These people come from out of our town. They’ve actually come to one of the most sacred places in Middlesbrough, which is our Cenotaph. We remember our past fallen heroes here.

"They started it [riots] from here, they come from outside and they’ve destroyed our town."

Mr Jaber said he saw rioters smashing every car and house window they passed on Athol Street in the town.

"Those cars didn’t have a religion," he said. "I know some of them belonged to single mothers.

"In this area which is a TS1 postcode, the insurance is already sky high - they have difficulty affording those cars and they are there for their children.

"As far as I’m concerned those kids are now going to be deprived, and they’re going to be deprived by these idiots, and that’s something we need to help them with.

"This is what upset me when they came, they were just out to destroy. I’m sorry, but that’s not nice."

Among the people to have had their property destroyed was local resident Hamed, who could not get to work on Monday because his car had been attacked.

He said rioters also attempted to smash the windows of his home but fortunately did not manage to get through.

He told ITV Tyne Tees that he feared for his safety during the violence.

Hamed said: "It just feels like we’re being hated, it’s just feels different. What are you spoiling the car for? What’s the reason?

“I don’t know the motive. What is the protest about? I know about the Southport killings, it’s a retaliation about it, but why has this happened?

“I was too scared to come out yesterday. I didn’t sleep properly."

Middlesbrough resident Hamed's car was damaged during the unrest

Teesside University was also targeted and damaged during the disorder.

Condemning the attack, Mr Jaber said: "I’ll tell you the truth - the amount of senseless damage that’s been done.

"Teesside University does not have a religion. They attacked our own university, this is a place of learning."

Videos shared on social media showed far-right protestors attempting to control the flow of traffic in the centre of the town.

At a makeshift checkpoint they asking whether motorists are "white or English" before letting them through.

Mr Jaber said he and his family who live nearby were scared to travel.

"They weren’t asking they were just looking," he continued.

"If they thought somebody looked a bit 'darkish' they were attacking.

"Loads of families daren’t travel with each other, because they were more likely to get attacked. They were worried in their own houses."

The Waterloo Road Mosque in the town was targeted during the riots. Videos shared online showed around 300 people standing outside to protect it.

On behalf of the Mosque, Mr Jaber had shared a message of peace asking people to avoid the area during the riots, but people came anyway.

He added: "The problem is, even though I asked nobody to come outside 300 people still turned up to protect the mosque.

"That side of Middlesbrough got protected, the other side of Middlesbrough didn’t.

"It ended up getting completely smashed. I feel for the families who have lost a lot."

Moving forward Mr Jaber thinks the community needs to reflect on what happened to make sure this does not happen again.

He added: "The Muslim community will stay strong but I wouldn’t say the Muslim community I would say the full community.

"At the end of the day a religion is good but no religion is going to condone the violence we’ve just seen. That’s wrong. It doesn’t matter what religion or if you don’t have a religion- it is wrong.

"We actually had at the Mosque a vigil for those three girls that passed away. They were three little girls that died, who is remembering them now?

"I’m sorry I’m just too gutted at the moment, the thing is, I felty as though myself I wanted to go and retaliate, at the time when I actually saw it, it hurt.

"I’ll tell you the truth, I hope in my life I never ever see it again."

A spokesperson for Teesside University said: "The violence and disorder that took place in Middlesbrough on Sunday is not representative of our town and community.

"We are proud to be part of a diverse and inclusive community and are saddened by these acts of violence carried out by a small minority of individuals.

"We would also like to express our heartfelt thanks to the volunteers who turned up unprompted first thing this morning to assist our clean-up operation.

"They embody the real values of Teesside as opposed to those intent on causing disruption and division within our communities.

"Our core business, transforming lives and economies through education, continues as usual, and we continue to work with our community partners to protect and celebrate our values."

Tees Valley Mayor, Ben Houchen, said: “It’s just horrific to see. I’m honestly lost for words that we could see the violence, the criminality that’s been caused in Middlesbrough town centre and the fear that it gives to local communities.

“We need to make sure that we do not allow or give anybody the excuse that this type of behaviour is acceptable, that it’s what we want, or that it represents us as a region.”

Mayor of the North East, Kim McGuinness said: “It was completely organised by right wing factions online who sought to infiltrate this city and bring violence to our communities.

“It’s totally unacceptable and I want to see those people feel the full force of the law and I’m glad that Northumbria Police have made arrests and that we’re already seeing those prosecutions start to take place.”

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