'Slow recovery' after race riots

By Kevin Bocquet BBC North of England correspondent

Conservative leader Michael Howard, in a speech in Burnley, said he wants to confront the British National Party head on and expose their "bigotry and hatred". BBC correspondent Kevin Bocquet meets the people of the Lancashire town - the scene of race riots just under three years ago.

For the people of Burnley, it was the most terrifying night in recent memory. For several hours, separate mobs of white and Asian youths ran riot in different parts of the town.

Burnley saw race riots in 2001

Shops were looted and destroyed, cars were burnt out, one of Burnley's best-known pubs was firebombed.

In the three years which have passed since the Burnley riots, those of an optimistic frame of mind point to the many local initiatives which have sprung up, some of them backed by the local council, aimed at healing wounds in the community.

Pessimists point to the recent success of the far right BNP, who currently hold seven seats on the council, as the lasting legacy of that night of violence.

'Racist abuse'

Mohammed Sarfraz runs a newsagents and general store in the predominantly white area of Burnleywood.

On the night of the riots, his shop was attacked and burnt out by a mob of mainly white youths.

I'm worried that one day, the whole thing will kick off again Mohammed Sarfraz

Mr Sarfraz and his terrified family had to be rescued from their first floor flat as the shop below burned.

The shop has been refurbished, but Mr Sarfraz said underlying tensions remain within the local community.

"The older generation are fine," he said.

"We've been getting along with them for more than 30 years. It's the young white people who cause the trouble.

"They hang around outside the shop. They shout abuse. Sometimes it's racist. And sometimes they throw stones at the shop.

"I'm worried that one day, the whole thing will kick off again."

'Young hotheads'

In another part of Burnley, the Duke of York pub is situated on the edge of the mainly Asian Stoneyholme area.

During the riots it was surrounded and firebombed by a mob of Asian youths.

There are young hotheads on both sides - the BNP stir it up and the Asian lads retaliate Matthew Storey

The landlady and her children narrowly escaped injury as they were led from the burning building.

It was a night which 78-year-old Matthew Storey, a Burnley resident all his life, remembers clearly.

"It could happen again tonight," he says.

"There are young hotheads on both sides. The BNP stir it up, and the Asian lads retaliate."

Mr Storey remembers when Burnley was a much more prosperous town, with thousands employed in textiles and mining.

Since the collapse of those industries, recovery has been slow.

Burnley remains deprived, even in comparison with other northern towns.

There are few good career opportunities for young people.

New initiatives

Many in the white community are convinced their Asian neighbours benefit more from public handouts than they do.

Mr Storey said: "They have everything. They drive around in big cars while all I have is an old banger."

The local authority firmly denies showing favouritism to any section of the community.

Burnley council leader Stuart Caddy points out that immediately before the riots, the mainly white area of south-west Burnley benefited from a multi million pound initiative to improve housing and stimulate new business.

There is less tension now - things have improved but it's bound to be a long, slow business Mubashar Lone

Since the riots, the council has produced a whole range of initiatives, including a new community centre in the heart of the town, which opened this week.

The Top of the Town centre is run by local residents and is open to both whites and Asians, and members of both communities, who attended the opening night, were much more positive about the future.

In a town in which many white and Asian people stick to their own areas, the hope is that they will at least get together on neutral ground.

Brenda Rochester, a lifelong resident of Burnley, said: "I think the centre will bring people closer together."

Mubashar Lone, the owner of a corner shop in Burnley town centre, said: "After the riots I didn't think race relations in Burnley would ever get back to normal.

"But I think there is less tension now. Things have improved, but it's bound to be a long, slow business."