Leeds streets in flames after violent thugs spark chaos and hurl bricks at police
'Lawless' Leeds streets have been set on fire by violent thugs as riots continue in troubled multi-ethnic suburb Harehills.
Violent mobs have forced police to flee Leeds streets after hurling missiles at officers and setting fire to a bus.
Harehills, a multi-ethnic suburb in the northern city of Leeds in West Yorkshire, has been gripped by mob chaos tonight which is spiralling into total 'lawless' carnage.
Riots broke out earlier this evening after agency workers were caught up in a dispute which sparked violent resistance in the streets.
Angry gangs flipped over a police car, as footage shared on social media saw gangs of youths punch a police car's windows and throw objects at it with officers inside, before breaking into the windows while mobs look on and film the carnage.
One man was seen picking up a child's scooter and using it to hammer the police car's windows. The car is eventually flipped by rioters.
Now the mindless chaos has become even worse as locals share footage of a double decker bus being set on fire.
Police had returned to the area after the bus was set alight but were then forced to flee for their lives for the second time in a matter of hours according to locals.
Darren Grimes posting on X said: "Now @WestYorksPolice have been forced to LEAVE once AGAIN as cars burn and missiles are thrown at their vehicles. Lawless Leeds is burning. Britain is falling."
Harehills has a large immigrant population attributed to cheap housing. British Asians, predominantly of Pakistani origin, make up the majority of the area's population, and it has a considerable cultural and ethnic mixture. Compared to the rest of the UK, Harehills has high levels of unemployment.
It is the same area that was infamously hit by the Harehills Riot in 2001, which broke out after the wrongful arrest of an Asian man, which sparked a six-hour long riot against West Yorkshire Police and 26 people were eventually sent to prison.
Racial tensions have long characterised the area, which has a history of violent incidents.
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