RIOTS broke out in Leeds on Thursday evening and people were urged to stay at home as a double-decker bus was set alight and a police car flipped over.
Officers were called to Luxor Street, in Leeds, at around 5pm last night due to an “ongoing disturbance” involving agency workers and children.
While the children were being moved to a safe place, dozens of people gathered and the situation quickly escalated, with objects thrown at police.
According to reporters, the riot had initially begun as a protest against the children being taken away.
West Yorkshire Police said officers had safely removed the children and agency workers before the violence escalated throughout the evening.
Videos posted online showed a police car being overturned, while rioters smashed the windows and threw objects at it, and a double-decker bus was torched as multiple fires were set along the street.
First Bus confirmed one of its vehicles was set on fire and said there were no passengers onboard and that the driver was unharmed.
Another video posted on the social networking site X/Twitter showed a large fridge being thrown on top of a fire as onlookers cheered.
Multiple rioters streamed the chaotic scenes on social media throughout the evening.
Salma Arif, a councillor for Gipton and Harehills, told residents to stay at home in a video she posted on social media, which also featured an East Leeds police officer.
Arif said: “There is an ongoing situation currently in Harehills, we’re aware of that so the police is here.
“We are asking everybody in the area to please stay at home at this moment in time.”
Police confirmed there were no injuries and reported there were a number of road closures in place.
In a statement, West Yorkshire Police said: “At 5pm today (Thursday), police were called to an ongoing incident at an address in Luxor Street, Harehills.
“Officers attended and found an ongoing disturbance which involved some agency workers and some children.
“More people started to attend the location and a decision was made to remove the agency workers and the children to a safe place.
“A crowd started to gather and more officers were requested to attend the area, where some pockets of disorder were occurring.
“More officers have been deployed to the area to assist with the management of this incident. Some road closures are also being implemented and people are advised to avoid the area at this time.
“No injuries have been reported and enquiries are ongoing at the scene.”
