Birmingham and the wider Midlands region suffered more rioting and looting last night.
In a second consecutive night of violence, gangs of youths caused more damage to properties in Birmingham’s city centre, including the looting of many shops in the prime retail areas of High Street and New Street.
Significant damage was caused to the Marks & Spencer store on High Street.
Cars were set alight close to Moor Street station and shops were also broken into on Newhall Street in the city’s historic Jewellery Quarter.
Many businesses opted to shut early yesterday as the threat of more tension hung in the air. The Bullring and the Mailbox both closed at 5pm, while the Jewellery Quarter shut at 2pm.
Although significant, the disorder in Birmingham was on a smaller scale to Monday evening’s rioting, which saw the Mailbox, the Bullring and the city’s central business district the focus of copycat rioting as disturbances spread out across the country from London. A total of 109 arrests in Birmingham have been made.
For the first time, disturbances also spread across the Midlands to Wolverhampton, West Bromwich, Nottingham and Leicester.
Wolverhampton saw gangs of youths rampaging through Dudley Street – the city’s prime retail pitch, while in West Bromwich, High Street played host to a crowd of youths mounting a stand-off with police. Two cars were set alight.
In the East Midlands, 84 people were arrested in Nottingham last night. Police stations were firebombed and gangs of youths ran wild and in the city centre, with a shop being looted close to Capital Shopping Centre’s Victoria Centre.
A clean-up operation is underway this morning in Leicester after rioters attacked buildings in the city centre. The disturbance was focused around Hammerson’s Highcross shopping centre, Humberstone Gate, Granby Street and the city’s cultural quarter. Fourteen people have been arrested.
lisa.pilkington@estatesgazette.com
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