Chaos erupts in UK city as violent thugs throw bricks at police and set fire to bus in Leeds

Violent crowds have caused police to retreat from the streets of Leeds after projectiles were thrown at officers and a bus was set ablaze.

Harehills, a diverse suburb in the northern city of Leeds in West Yorkshire, is currently experiencing mob chaos tonight, spiralling into complete 'lawless' havoc. Riots erupted earlier this evening following a dispute involving agency workers, which ignited violent resistance on the streets.

Furious mobs overturned a police car, with social media footage showing groups of youths punching a police car's windows and hurling objects at it while officers were inside, before breaking into the windows as crowds watched and filmed the destruction.

One individual was seen using a child's scooter to smash the police car's windows. The car was eventually flipped by rioters, reports the Express .

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Police had returned to the area after the bus was set on fire but were then forced to run for their lives for the second time in just a few hours, according to local residents.

Darren Grimes, posting on X, said: " Now @WestYorksPolice have been forced to LEAVE once AGAIN as cars burn and missiles are thrown at their vehicles. Lawless Leeds is burning. Britain is falling."

A spokesperson for West Yorkshire Police said: "At 5pm today, police were called to an ongoing disturbance at an address in Luxor Street, Harehills. Officers attended and found an ongoing disturbance which involved some agency workers and some children.

"More people started to attend the location and a decision was made to remove the agency workers and the children to a safe place. A crowd started to gather and more officers were requested to attend the area, where some pockets of disorder were occurring."

Compared to the rest of the UK, Harehills has high levels of unemployment. This is the same area that was notoriously affected by the Harehills Riot in 2001, which erupted following the wrongful arrest of an Asian man, leading to a six-hour long riot against West Yorkshire Police.