UK towns that saw rioting last summer have ‘torn social fabric’, report claims

Rioting in Middlesborough last summer saw damage to property, cars and public buildings, as well as attacks on police. Photograph: Gary Calton/The Observer

A majority of towns that saw rioting last summer have a “torn social fabric” and have been bearing the brunt of economic deprivation, according to a new report.

The report was published by the charitable trust Power to Change, using a “social fabric index” produced by the Onward thinktank which looks at the changing nature of community in different parts of the UK.