A police station was set on fire in Sunderland on Friday as officers tried to contain several hundred protesters on another night of disorder.
Video footage on social media showed flames coming from Sunderland Central police station.
Nick Lowles, from the organisation Hope Not Hate, posted a photo of the blaze on X and wrote: “A police station has been set alight in Sunderland tonight. A far right and racist protest has culminated in this. Shame on all those who continue to excuse these protests.”
The crowd, some of whom wore balaclavas, also threw beer barrels and stones at police who came under a sustained attack outside a mosque on St Mark’s Road.
An overturned car was set on fire and rioters set off fire extinguishers against officers. Northumbria police advised members of the public to avoid Sunderland city centre due to the “ongoing disorder”.
The protest, promoted by far-right activists on social media, began at the newly refurbished Keel Square. Social media footage showed young men throwing stones at the police and shouting “whose streets, our streets” as well as Islamophobic chants.
The thing is though they went straight from zero to 100. Right into violent riots, there was no lead up there was no long drawn out political discourse they just went straight into setting fire to things.
And don’t call it a protest either what they did was not a protest they weren’t campaigning for change they just wanted to damage things.