Trouble linked to 'violent arrest'

The arrest of a local man allegedly sparked violence

Similarities have been drawn between the violent disorder in Leeds and recent rioting in nearby Oldham, where racial tensions have been running high in recent months.

But many residents in Leeds' Harehills area have insisted the violence is a protest at the treatment of an Asian man arrested by police - and has nothing to do with racial issues.

One local man, who said he was a friend of the alleged victim, said: "They took this man, they arrested him, kicked him and sprayed CS gas at him in front of Asian people.

It is not a racist attack, this is because of police inaction

Leeds resident

"And that's why it started tonight. It is not a racist attack, this is because of police inaction.

"Police chiefs went to a meeting with locals today [Tuesday]. As far as I know nothing happened."

Razaq Raj, a voluntary worker within the Asian community in Harehills, witnessed the arrest. He agreed that had been the cause of the violence.

"It was all sparked off by what happened on Sunday," he said. "The Bangladeshi-origin man was arrested, CS gas was used and he was violently arrested. It was all sparked off from there."

He said the disorder had "nothing to do" with race, and local people were "shocked and horrified".

"The area where it happened, in my life I never ever came across this. People from all races live there together very happily," he said.

He added that the first car had been set alight by "100 or so" Afro-Caribbean youths, after which he and his colleagues asked police to come.

But Nigel Swift, of West Yorkshire Police, told BBC News Online: "I have heard those suggestions before, but there is nothing we are aware of to suggest that is the case."

He added: "I think our primary concern in the days that follow will be to arrest the people who have caused the damage."

BBC correspondents in Leeds say two social workers have alleged that some of those on the streets in Leeds were not locals but had travelled there from Oldham.

Oldham violence

The trouble in Leeds comes less than two weeks after serious outbreaks of violence and disorder in Oldham which saw up to 500 Asian youths clashing with riot police.

An Asian supermarket was set on fire, the offices of a local newspaper were firebombed, and barricades of furniture and tyres were set alight.

The trouble in Oldham followed two marches in the town by the National Front, held in protest at allegations that Asians had created local "no-go" zones for whites.

Some members of the Asian community in Oldham said the riots had been sparked by members of the National Front who "rampaged" through Asian areas causing damage and assaulting residents.

In early May Home Secretary Jack Straw banned political marches in the town, in response to fears of growing racial tension.