Race attack sparks clashes in Burnley

Windows, police and private cars were pelted with stones

Stones were thrown at police lines during a second night of clashes with gangs of Asian youths in Lancashire.

Officers were called to the Stoneyholme district of Burnley on Saturday night after residents reported large groups of Asian youths gathering.

A pub was attacked during the clashes

Police officers who tried to speak to the youths were pelted with stones and other missiles in sporadic attacks over a period of several hours, said a Lancashire Police spokesman.

The disturbances follow an incident early on Saturday when an Asian taxi driver was attacked in what police are describing as a "racially motivated incident".

A gang of white men surrounded his cab, a brick was thrown through his window and when he got out to protest they attacked him.

'Spontaneous and minor'

A pub in the Stoneyholme area had its windows smashed and police broke up a number of "minor altercations" between white and Asian youths.

Private cars and police vehicles were attacked with stones but no injuries were reported.

Police said calm was restored by 0100BST on Sunday.

A spokesman said: "We would stress that these incidents were spontaneous and minor and we continue to receive help from all elements of the community."

Lancashire Police say they are continuing to monitor the situation and an appropriate police presence will be maintained to reassure local residents.

Troubled towns

The trouble follows similar clashes with police in Leeds at the beginning of June and in Oldham, Greater Manchester, last month.

In a multi-ethnic area of Leeds, two dozen cars and a shop were set on fire and police were pelted with bricks and petrol bombs by crowds of about 200 people.

Some members of the Asian community said tensions had been heightened by the arrest of a local Asian man.

In Oldham, an action plan is being drawn up by Home Office officials, civic leaders, police and politicians to ease racial tensions, after problems exploded into two nights of rioting in May.