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4 months ago
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Locals in Leeds claimed they have been 'persecuted' by police amid a shocking evening of disorder in the city last night which saw neighbours clash with officers.
Leeds was blighted by lawlessness for the third time in just over two decades, and saw a car being trashed while a double decker bus was set on fire.
Video footage showed a police officer hauling a young boy out of a house and bundling him into a van - the moment which is said to have sparked the night of violent riots.
Last year an official report aimed at tackling problems faced by the Roma community told of their 'fierce pride' – and how 'a problem for one member of the community was seen as a problem for all'.
The ethnic minority, who are widely subjected to discrimination and poverty throughout Europe, are just the latest to settle in Harehills.
Many have large families, and around 5,000 Roma are now believed to live in the deprived neighbourhood, attracted by its spacious three-story terraces and low house prices.
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Locals arguing and arguing with police in Harehills, Leeds, following last nights disturbances
A local argues with a police officer following the disturbances in Leeds last night
Vehicles were set on fire and a police car was overturned as residents were warned to stay home following an outbreak of disorder in the Harehills area of Leeds
The smouldering wreckage of a bus set alight in Harehills, Leeds last night after riots brought chaos to the streets
The remains of a bus which was set on fire in the city last night amid the riots
A JCB clears the remains of a burnt-out bus, which is cordoned off by police in Harehills, east Leeds, following the disturbance on Thursday evening
Aerial footage shows the aftermath of the trouble, with large sections of the area still cordoned off
Distressing footage which emerged today shows police officers hauling a young boy out of a house and bundling him into a van
Last night's angry attack on police and social workers trying to protect children from a Roma family over welfare concerns appears to have ignited underlying allegations of racism and persecution at the hands of the authorities.
Today one community leader told the Mail: '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.'
Indeed research by Leeds City Council aimed at boosting integration of Roma families tells of their 'fierce pride' – and, tellingly given last night's shocking events, how 'a problem for one member of the community, was seen as a problem for all'.
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 large number of police officers were seen on Thursday evening taking the children - understood to be from a family of Romanians - into protective custody
Police are still at the scene in Leeds where the violence erupted last night after a number of children were taken in to protective custody by social services (pictured: the street today)
Police cordons remain in place today after rioters torched a bus and flipped police car
Parts of Leeds resemble a warzone, with torched vehicles this morning pictured as smouldering wrecks
Pictured is the bus as a fire raged on board after riots set it ablaze in Leeds on Thursday
Police leave the scene of a burning bus after firefighters extinguished the vehicle
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.'
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