A furious crowd shouting in Romanian grew into a riot in Leeds.
People overturned a police car and set a bus on fire.
Several fires were lit along the street.
Dozens of police officers intervened but were chased off by the angry mob – before riot police intervened.
“Let it go down in history! Let the masked police from Bucharest come because we will knock them down too,” someone shouted as a police car was flipped over.
The situation escalated as the result of several children reportedly being taken away from their family by British social services.
“They were attacking police cars, throwing things at the police cars – anything they could pick up off the ground: stones from the garden, trash, drinks, anything. Drinks were definitely thrown at the police – water or juice or soft drinks, or whatever they had in their hands, basically, because [the police] were trying not to get too close as it was quite violent”, says a witness.
A video shows a large refrigerator being thrown into the fire, while the crowd applauds and sirens can be heard in the background.
“We discourage local residents from speculating on the cause of these disturbances, which we believe were incited by a criminal minority with the intention of disrupting community relations. Officers have noticed incorrect information circulating on social media suggesting potential responsible individuals”, said the British police.
