Broadcasters battle over riot footage

Police want to trace those responsible for violence

Broadcasters have gone to court to try to stop police from obtaining footage of the Oldham riots.

A High Court judge in Manchester Crown Court has begun hearing attempts by Manchester Police to get four broadcasters to hand the untransmitted tapes over.

Police say they want the footage to help them identify those responsible for throwing petrol bombs and stones.

The BBC, Granada, ITV and Sky say the material - hundreds of hours of footage - would be of no benefit to the inquiry.

They say it would be against the public interest for broadcasters to be suspected of gathering material for the police.

And they will argue that handing over the material would jeopardise their relationship with the community in future.

'Sheer carnage'

In May, hundreds of Asian youths clashed with police in three days of rioting which senior officers described as "sheer carnage".

Police officers were injured and arrests were made after weeks of racial tension between white and Asian youths spilt over into violence.

The Greater Manchester town has significant Pakistani and Bangladeshi populations, living in similar but separate run down inner-city enclaves.

Police had denied that Asian youths were turning parts of the town into "no-go zones" for whites.