'Fiercely proud' Roma crowd chants 'Please bring the kids back!' as hundreds gather in Leeds for second night in row after children were taken from family home

A Roma community in Leeds chanted 'Please bring the kids back!' as hundreds gathered in the city for the second night in a row after children were 'taken away by police' from a family home in Harehills, sparking mass civic unrest.

Scores of people took to the streets of Leeds on Friday night chanting 'please bring the kids back' in peaceful demonstrations, after locals set a bus on fire and a  overturned a police car in an angered display late Thursday.

The removal of the children has sparked concerns about underlying prejudice against Roma communities. The ethnic minority group, who are widely subjected to discrimination and poverty across Europe, make up some 5,000 people in the area.

Last year, a report by Leeds City Council aimed at tackling problems faced by the community told of their 'fierce pride' and how 'a problem for one member of the community was seen as a problem for all' - as many now join in solidarity with the family's pain. 

The father has appealed for authorities to return his children, all under 14, since West Yorkshire Police removed them 'to a safe place' while attending an incident with social services on Luxor Street on Thursday afternoon.

'Please bring my children back. I want them back. Why take my kids? They were taken from us,' the Romanian father of the children told The Mirror as he began a 'hunger strike' pending their return.

A video shot Friday shows locals singing along to music while people hold signs which say 'please give back children.' 

Further footage from last night shows a woman seemingly being led away by police because she was opposed to a second night of protests in Leeds. 

The family, who are members of the Roma community, have committed to going on a hunger strike until their children are returned to them. 

Stefania Banu, a local community leader, speaking to the the Daily Mirror said: 'The mother and father are refusing to eat until they get their children back. We are fully supporting them.

'We believe it was an injustice that can be rectified by the authorities if they revise the case. Which they have promised to do.' 

Ms Banu went onto to say that the manner of which the children were removed from their home was 'traumatising' for the family.

A community leader told the Mail yesterday: 'We are persecuted at home and now here.

'The police should not have taken the children away, it is upsetting for the parents and family and children.'

Since Thursday's riots locals in the West Yorkshire city have claimed that they have been 'persecuted' by police amid a shocking evening of disorder in the city which saw neighbours clash with officers. 

Assistant Chief Constable Pat Twiggs of West Yorkshire Police said in a statement on Friday: '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 (Thursday 18 July) 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.'

Leeds was a scene of 'shocking and disgraceful' disorder and saw a car being trashed while a double decker bus was set on fire. 

Meanwhile, harrowing video footage showed a police officer hauling a young boy out of a house and bundling him into a van. 

Witnesses said the removal of the child was the flashpoint which kicked off the rioting last night, with the disorder lasting for hours. 

Photos from Friday show tensions rising in the city as locals appeared to argue with police while surrounded by a scene of chaos from the night before. 

Families looked on at the immense clean up taking place to clear away the smouldering wreckage of a bus set alight in Harehills. 

The intensity of the violence was deemed so severe that firefighters refused to enter the street for hours amid fears crews would be attacked.

West Yorkshire Police yesterday said that a number of people had been arrested following the violence and warned 'further arrests will be made over the next few days'.

Protestors from the Roma community gathered in support of the family in peaceful demonstrations again Friday night.

Leeds City Council published an official report into the community and tackling concerns about prejudice last year, exposing the deep 'challenges' they have faced across Europe and in the UK. 

The report's authors say: 'We were told about the fierce pride the Roma community had for their culture and heritage.

'This had remained despite the challenges, and the stigma and discrimination, they have faced.

'We were told about how community members would show great support for one another.'

Harehills has long been one of the most ethnically diverse areas of Leeds.

At the last Census in 2021, 38 per cent of residents of Harehills and neighbouring Gipton described themselves as being from Asian backgrounds, 36 per white and 17 per cent black.

It has also been ranked as the most deprived neighbourhood in the West Yorkshire city with among the highest levels of unemployment, crime and poor health.

At least twice before, violence and ill-feeling towards police has spilled out into street violence.

In 2001, hundreds of men went on the rampage in Harehills following the wrongful arrest of an Asian man, Hossein Miah.

Officers were lured to nearby Banstead Park over a false report that one had been hit by a petrol bomb.

A multi-ethnic mob then barricaded police with burning furniture from a second-hand store nearby as well as washing machines.

Over 20 cars were torched, 23 officers and a journalist were hurt and a shop was burnt down, with damage put at £500,000.

Twenty-five men were later given jail sentences for what a judge branded 'violence for the sake of violence'.

Then on Bonfire Night in 2019, terrified Harehills residents cowered indoors as police were forced to battle a five-hour siege by yobs armed with fireworks, bricks and axes.

As with last night's disorder, locals bravely tried to defend police, with six officers injured.

Three of the rioters were later given jail sentences totalling seven years.

However on the 20th anniversary of the 2001 riots, there were warnings that little had changed.

One business owner told Leeds Live: 'It's the same, it hasn't changed a bit.'

A local resident complained about 'blatant' drug dealing, adding: 'The police are present sometimes but I don't think it's enough.'