'Harehills is broken': Leeds community reacts after night of 'chaos' as bus set on fire and police attacked

The site of flames bursting out of the top of a double-decker bus in Harehills last night (Thursday) was the centrepiece of an evening of “chaos” for the eastern suburb that saw a police car flipped over, officers pelted with bricks and hundreds of youths run amok on the streets.

It was at that same site today, where just a smouldering heap of ashen metal remained, that shocked people gathered to reflect on the evening and piece together what had happened.

Residents reflected on the cause and impact of the disorder and what could be done to avoid such a reoccurrence.

It all started on Luxor Street, about half a mile from the scene of the burning bus, at 5pm when police were called by social services after workers were faced with hostility while dealing with a child protection matter. The full circumstances surrounding the incident remain unclear and has not been released to the public.

West Yorkshire Police said officers were “attacked” as they helped the social services workers to a place of safety. The “disorder escalated” and “damage was caused to vehicles and several fires set”, the force added.

Among those fires was a bus fire on nearby Foundry Approach, which was directly next to Amjad Hussain’s furniture store.

Mr Hussain told the YEP that he rushed down at 10pm and was greeted by a scene of “chaos”. He said: "This is Harehills so there's always something happening but this was something totally different.”

A helicopter was also circling overhead at this point and police had begun to retreat, after they came “under a barrage of bricks and missiles from a large group”.

Among those trying to restore order was local councillor Mothin Ali, who grappled wheelie bins from the hands of people and did what he could to “stop the mayhem”.

He told the YEP: “There was a decent police presence but they were heavily, heavily outnumbered. There was about 2,000 people out and 50 police officers.

“Myself and a couple of other community activists were trying to act as a human shield and protect the police and push the crowd back. They were in a really unsafe situation.”

He said that people from outside the area were heading in after finding out about the carnage and brought items to throw onto the fires. Coun Ali said: “I tried to stop them the best I could.”

He said that meetings with police and other community activists had been held to try to ensure there was no further disorder.

Asked what he thought the cause of the disturbance was, Coun Ali said: "Our community is massively neglected. It's chronically underfunded, there's a lack of decent housing, there's people in squalid conditions and young people don't have afterschool clubs.

"These things bubble under the surface and all it takes in an area like this is a spark and things explode.”

Mr Hussain from the furniture store also pointed to the “underlying issues” facing the community, adding: “It's a diverse area and everyone gets on but it's been neglected.

“There's a lot of issues here and we could be here all day talking about them - gambling, alcohol, mental health, poverty. If I just stand here by my shop you can see the prevalence of people struggling.

“If we are going to get help, people need to look at the issues from a different perspective.

“But lighting fires - how is that going to help the cause?”

Other residents were even more despondent. Lifelong Leeds resident Graham Newby, 59, said he was “heartbroken” to see the images of the disturbance last night.

“Harehills is broken”, he said. “It’s been snapped in two and it will never be the same.”

Jahed Bengal also added his opinion on the night’s events. He said: “It's not right. There's loads of kids that live around this area and imagine if that bus had blown up? Don’t be putting people at risk.”

On the cause of the disorder he said: “This area has got no support. They are not putting money in to the community and that's why you end up with situations like this.

“The government need to start looking in to supporting these sort of areas.”

Asked what he thought could be done to curtail such acts from happening again, Coun Ali said: "We need massive amounts of investment.

“Decent housing - because a lot the of houses are overcrowded - and support for the other issues affecting our community."

Fellow local councillor Salma Arif described the evening’s events as “shocking” and “difficult” but added: “Today’s a new day and thankfully we’ve been speaking to the community and checking that residents feel safe and secure. We hope we don’t have a repeat of yesterday.”

Police say that a number of arrests were made throughout the night and “further arrests will be made over the next few days”.

CCTV and social media footage will continue to be reviewed and police have asked anyone who filmed any of the disorder to upload footage through the dedicated Public Portal.

Assistant Chief Constable Pat Twiggs said: “It is important to recognise the disorder and damage was caused by a criminal minority intent on disrupting the community.

"There will be a significant policing presence within Harehills over the weekend and future attempts to engage in crime and disorder will be met with a robust response.

“I would like to thank the Harehills community once again for their efforts and support.”