Chaos in Leeds as police car overturned and bus set on fire in riot, as Home Secretary condemns 'shocking' scenes

18 July 2024, 21:11 | Updated: 19 July 2024, 00:13

A Leeds neighbourhood has descended into chaos, with a police car turned over, fires lit in the street and locals asked to stay at home amid fears for their safety.

Images shared on social media showed the scale of the disturbance, which began in the Harehills neighbourhood in the north of the city at around 5pm on Thursday.

Footage shows locals lifting up a police car and flipping it over. Other videos show people kicking the windows of the car as it lies on it side.

Later videos appears to show people setting fire to a double-decker bus and other objects in the middle of the street. The bus company said two of their buses had been targeted.

All the while, hundreds of people look on and film the scenes on their phones.

It is not currently clear what caused the riot, although there were reports of an incident with social services workers.

Officers said that no one had been injured.

Authorities urged people to stay at home, but many appear to have ignored the warning, with footage showing hundreds of people walking the streets as darkness descended.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, who represents a West Yorkshire constituency, said she was "appalled" by the scenes, and was being kept updated by police.

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Salma Arif, a local councillor, asked people to avoid the area "if at all possible" earlier on Thursday evening.

"We are asking everybody in the area please stay at home at this moment in time," she added.

Police said: "At 5pm today (Thursday), police were called to an ongoing incident at an address in Luxor Street, Harehills.

"Officers attended and found an ongoing disturbance which involved some agency workers and some children.

"More people started to attend the location and a decision was made to remove the agency workers and the children to a safe place.

"A crowd started to gather and more officers were requested to attend the area, where some pockets of disorder were occurring.

"More officers have been deployed to the area to assist with the management of this incident. Some road closures are also being implemented and people are advised to avoid the area at this time.

"No injuries have been reported and enquiries are ongoing at the scene."

Ms Cooper, who as well as her government role is the MP for Pontefract, Castleford and Knottingley, said: "I am appalled at the shocking scenes and attacks on police vehicles & public transport in Leeds tonight. Disorder of this nature has no place in our society.

"My thanks go to West Yorkshire police for their response. I am being kept regularly updated."

Richard Burgon, MP for Leeds East, said: "I am on my way back to Leeds from Parliament and am in touch with the police and concerned residents about the on-going incident in Harehills.

"The police say no injuries have been reported but are advising people to avoid the area at the moment if possible."

West Yorkshire mayor Tracy Brabin tweeted: "Thank you to our emergency services in what is a very difficult situation. "I'm being briefed by @WestYorksPolice and we are monitoring events.

"I'm reassured no one has been seriously injured," she added.

A spokesperson for First Bus in Leeds said: "Two of our vehicles have been caught up in the public disorder in the Harehills area of Leeds this evening (Thursday 18 November).

"A team from our depot was quickly at the scene to provide support to our drivers and customers.

"We can confirm that both drivers are unhurt and we have no reports of injuries to passengers.

"One of our vehicles has been set on fire but was empty as the customers had earlier been transferred to another bus together with the driver.

"All services are being diverted from this area of Harehills for the safety of our staff and customers. We will follow the advice of the police in deciding when normal routes will resume and update customers as soon as we can."