Bonfire Night violence condemned as six arrested

Six people, including three teenage boys, have been arrested after a night of violence saw fireworks and bricks launched at emergency services on Bonfire Night.

Northumbria Police said its crews had been attacked after responding to reports of anti-social behaviour in Meadow Well in North Tyneside at about 21:00 GMT on Thursday.

A number of officers were injured and five police cars and three fire engines were damaged, with the disorder linked to misinformation that a building would be a house of multiple occupation (HMO) for asylum seekers, the force said.

Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service area manager Phil Clark said: "I've worked here for 33 years, it's the worst that I have seen."

Clark said one fire engine had a smashed windscreen and two others had their side windows smashed, leaving all three out of service on the busiest night of the year.

"Those windows are difficult to smash so the force of the attacks have been quite significant," he said.

Ch Supt Daniel Whyte said anyone involved in the disorder on Waterville Road should expect a "knock on the door".

Two men, aged 25 and 27, a 27-year-old woman, and three teenage boys have been arrested on suspicion of violent disorder and remain in custody.

Whyte said there would be an increased police presence in the area to "offer reassurance".

Ian Miller, who runs the local community centre The Meadows, said people had a right to feel safe where they live.

He told BBC Radio Newcastle emergency services should not have had to experience assaults and "rioting and causing this amount of trouble gets you nowhere".

He said those who had been engaged in the violence did not represent most people living in the area.

Miller said his team had been aware of rumours circulating about the building for the past few weeks.

To counter them, the community centre held a meeting for residents last month alongside the building's developer, who had emphasised the site was due to be turned into a supermarket.

The flats above would be occupied by anyone who went through the "process of getting somewhere to live", including people from the estate, he said.

Building owner Urfan Ahmed said the government had to tackle online misinformation and the spread of hate in working class communities.

"Even now people are saying it's going to be a migrant hostel, it's totally wrong," he said.

"It's going to be nine flats for local people or a housing association to take on, or a charity to take on.

"Newcastle and the surrounding areas are a city of sanctuary. Communities have got on gloriously well over the last 40 years, it has to be addressed by the government."

Ahmed also said authorities should look at the sale of fireworks in the area following the disorder.

"It's happened [in Meadow Well] two years in a row," he said.

"It's not fair for the people who live here. You can't do this to people's homes, it's not acceptable."

Miller said people in the area were "creative, positive, enthusiastic, wonderful folk" and not reflected in what had happened.

"Those people exist here, live here and they have a right to enjoy and feel safe where they live," he said.

Litter picker Dave Shaw, 76, said about 60 youths had been throwing missiles at firefighters.

He saw five or six young people letting off fireworks towards the building and then black smoke, so he knew it had caught fire, he said.

"There were about 60 of them, throwing bricks and whatever else they could find at the police," he said.

Shaw initially believed a petrol bomb had also been thrown but he later realised it was a smoke grenade.

North East Mayor Kim McGuinness said she was "disgusted" by the violence which she said was carried out by a "minority of idiots".

North Tyneside mayor Karen Clark said the disorder was appalling and completely unacceptable.

"I know how much pride the people of Meadow Well take in their community and how upsetting and frightening these scenes will have been for residents," she said.

Clark also condemned a post made at the scene by Reform UK councillor Steven Robinson, who represents the Chirton and Percy Main ward.

Robinson's post, seen by the Local Democracy Reporting Service, mentioned asylum accommodation and said residents should be told "if the government wants to use buildings in our community for that purpose".

Clark said Reform politicians should be correcting misinformation and "spreading it has real consequences for our communities".

North Shields Green councillor Martin Osborne said the planning application was "clear" about what the building was going to be and Robinson had chosen to "stoke division in our communities with an ambiguous post".

Robinson said he condemned the violence and, when he arrived, "order had been restored" and he "did what I could to help keep things calm".

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