“I don’t know what’s going to happen tonight, I’m scared, I don’t want to see it again.”
A Polish mother, clutching her young son close to her, spoke to i outside her home, just a few metres from the smouldering wreckage of a bus that was torched during rioting in Leeds on Thursday night.
The smell of smoke was still in the air and one of the main bus routes through Harehills remained closed, leaving many people unable to get to work on Friday.
Instead, a large crowd began milling around the crime scene, talking to one another about how the chaos started and worrying about what came next.
West Yorkshire Police has said “several” arrests were made in relation to the violence and pledged that more will happen over the coming days.
Assistant Chief Constable Pat Twiggs said that there had been “a great deal of speculation, commentary and concern” over the incident, which Home Secretary Yvette Cooper condemned as “shocking” scenes.
But among those living in Harehills, an area east of the city centre, questions are being asked about why there appeared to be a lack of police and firefighters for much of the night.
Locals resorted to putting out fires themselves using buckets of water from their homes.
Mr Twiggs admitted officers had “temporarily” withdrawn for the area after being hit by a barrage of “bricks and missiles” from rioters.
“This allowed for further community mediation to take place in order to calm the situation,” he said.
On Friday, officers walked through Harehills in pairs trying to offer reassurance to residents. “Let’s keep things nice and steady, enjoy the sun, if you’re worried about anything come and speak to us,” one Pc said to a group of residents.
But people remained uneasy, amid accusations that police “abandoned” the neighbourhood, one of the most deprived areas of the city, when the riot broke out and vehicles were set alight.
Multiple witnesses told i the disorder began when a large group of people became angry about social services removing several children from a household at around 5pm against the will of the family.
After the children were taken away, the situation deteriorated and a police vehicle was overturned.
“When I arrived there were about 2,000 people in the streets and police were heavily outnumbered,” said Mothin Ali, the Green Party councillor for Gipton and Harehills.
“We needed to speak to the family, it was important to try and calm them, I went to visit the family. There was the initial violence with the police cars and at that point, it was sort of contained.
“There was a decision made to withdraw, police were outnumbered, people started throwing projecticles, bricks, bottles and police were without the right equipment, they didn’t have shields, they didn’t have helmets and they were being pelted.
“It was right for them to withdraw. A few of us actually acted as human shields, standing in front of police to form a barrier.”
Much of the disorder was shared on social media platforms such as TikTok and SnapChat, with some people live-streaming videos of police running from the scene.
The consequence, according to Mr Ali, was that more troublemakers were drawn to Harehills from outside the area.
As darkness began to fall at around 10pm, multiple fires were lit, including the attack on a bus. Fortunately, there have been no reports of any injuries.
“When it got dark the people changed,” said Mr Ali. “There were people that came later on from outside the area. They were seeing the videos on TikTok and coming in.”
Several residents told i they dialled 999 to ask for police and the fire service but no one appeared for several hours.
“My neighbour rang police and they said, ‘We have air support it’s under control.’ It wasn’t under control,” the mother, who asked not to be named, said.
“The fire brigade came around 12.30am, people were putting it out themselves with buckets of water. When my partner rang the fire station they said, ‘When police give the signal we will go with them.’
“Where were the police? it’s a joke, they were just scared and ran away.”
Dianne, a woman in her 60s, was on the bus coming home from work when she was forced to get off early and walk because the road was blocked by rioters.
“I heard a big bang and I didn’t like it, there was a big puff of black smoke,” she said. “I stayed in and locked the door. It’s scary, it’s intimidating
“Because of this now, they’ve got one up on the police, haven’t they? They will do what they want
“My wheelie bin’s gone missing, they took it and set it on fire. I was frightened they would start torching houses and cars.”
Nigel Farage, leader of Reform UK, drew criticism for claiming the “politics of the subcontinent are currently playing out on the streets of Leeds” in response to Thursday’s events.
“Don’t say I didn’t warn you,” he added in a post on X.
His remarks led to demands for an apology from Alex Sobel, Labour MP for Leeds Central and Headingley, who accused him of “inflaming the situation without being in full possession of the facts”.
Richard Burgon, the Labour MP for Leeds East, said Harehills residents wanted the disorder to end and “want those pushing misinformation from afar to stop”.
Meanwhile, Mr Ali highlighted what he said was a lack of resources in the police force.
“Police needed to establish themselves and come back and take control – but unfortunately they didn’t have the numbers, there were about 50 officers and 2,000 people,” he said.
“The cuts to policing, the lack of resources, from neighbourhood policing, they’re not properly resourced. I hope we can have some meaningful conversations with residents and the authorities and calm the situation.
“We need to have some conversations about how we move forward, how we heal this community.
“There are tensions here, people are facing challenges, whether it’s poverty, poor quality hosing, lack of opportunities, lack of employment – there’s lots of reasons that are underlying, we need to rebuild that.
“Some right-wingers on social media are trying to pit people against one another, but people from outside won’t be able to divide us.”
West Yorkshire Police have been contacted for comment about claims there was a lack of resources during the riots.
In a statement issued earlier on Friday, Assistant Chief Constable Twiggs said: “There has understandably been a great deal of speculation, commentary and concern following the disorder in Harehills, Leeds, overnight.
“Our officers responded to a call from Children’s Social Care at around 5pm yesterday [Thursda] after social workers reported being met with hostility when dealing with a child protection matter.
“Responding officers were attacked and helped Children’s Social Care staff withdraw to a place of safety.
“As the disorder escalated, damage was caused to vehicles and several fires set.
“We continually assessed the situation and took the decision to deploy specialist public order officers who then came under a barrage of bricks and missiles from a large group.
“A decision was taken to withdraw these officers temporarily as it was evident that the police was their sole target.
“This allowed for further community mediation to take place in order to calm the situation.
“Police then returned to the area with Fire colleagues to extinguish the remaining fires, which were self-contained and didn’t pose a wider risk. By this point the crowd had diminished and officers were able to fully restore order.
“Throughout the night several arrests were made in relation to the disorder and further arrests will be made over the next few days.
“The force Major Enquiry Team have launched an investigation which will include reviewing CCTV and social media footage and images to identify the perpetrators.
“We will leave no stone unturned in our hunt for all those who were involved and will work closely with our criminal justice partners to bring them to justice.”
Anyone who may have filmed any of the disorder has been asked to share it with police.
