Rotherham hotel worker’s ‘terror’ at riot violence
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Police officers were injured during the anti-immigration protest in Rotherham
Terrified hotel staff stacked furniture against a door as they barricaded themselves against rioters who had smashed their way into the building.
Workers at the Holiday Inn Express in Rotherham told the BBC how they had pushed fridges and other furniture against a door to create the makeshift barrier after a mob surged into the hotel.
About 240 asylum seekers who had been staying at the hotel were moved overnight after clashes between police and a crowd of 700 people on Sunday afternoon and into the evening left 10 officers injured.
A shaken hotel worker, who did not want to be identified, described the experience as “absolutely terrifying”.
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Rioters made a temporary barricade at the hotel using tables and chairs
On Monday, Oliver Coppard, the Mayor of South Yorkshire, who is also the county’s police and crime commissioner, said the officers who were hurt had suffered “significant injuries”, including fractures.
He said: “They are on the mend. They are brave, tough people. That’s why they do the job they do.
“They did the bravest of jobs yesterday standing between a far-right hate-mob and those people in the hotel.”
He also praised people who had come out on Monday to help with the clean-up effort.
“I’m really proud of the people that have come out this morning and have done what good people do, which is help,” Mr Coppard said.
“We want to come together as community because that’s what the vast majority of people in South Yorkshire want.”
Reuters
Hundreds of people gathered at the Holiday Inn Express in Rotherham on Sunday
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People helped with the clean-up outside the hotel on Monday
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Police used shields and dogs as protection as they stood in front of houses near the Holiday Inn Express in Rotherham
A man who lived near the scene told BBC News that anyone trying to justify the violence was “an absolute joke”.
He spoke after some protesters made their way through a nearby estate after being dispersed by police.
He said: “It is just young hooligans trying to find any excuse to cause trouble. There’s no reason for them to be here, they’re just a waste of life, waste of fresh air.
“I get both sides, to be fair. I get why people can be frustrated but, at the end of the day, if no-one is bothering me, I’ll let people live their own life. It’s nothing to do with me and I try to keep out of the way, really.
“To have people in my garden and on my doorstep, it is shocking, I’ve never known anything like it, I’ve been here nearly 10 years and have been helping police, giving them water to keep them going. I’m just grateful they’re here protecting us.”
He added that his house and car were not damaged as the protests turned violent, but he said his neighbour had fireworks thrown at his van.
South Yorkshire’s Assistant Chief Constable Lindsey Butterfield said the behaviour of those involved was “disgusting”.
“While it was a smaller number of those in attendance who chose to commit violence and destruction, those who simply stood on and watched remain absolutely complicit in this,” she said.
BBC/Alison Blackstone
A community clean-up was under way on Monday morning
More than 250 people have so far been arrested following unrest across England and Northern Ireland which saw in shops and businesses being vandalised and looted.
Visiting the scene of the disorder in Rotherham on Monday, Defence Secretary John Healey praised the “massive turnout of local people” to help with the clean-up operation.
He said: “The local community is weighing in now. We’ve seen hundreds of people down here to help clear up.
“We’ll talk to the residents about the damage they have suffered and the trauma they have suffered.”
Mr Healey, who is also the Labour MP for Wentworth and Dearne, added: “My thoughts today are with those police officers who have been injured.
“The police did a really tough job in tough circumstances. I’ve got nothing but praise for the police officers on the ground.”
Mr Healey said the scenes in Rotherham were “on a scale we’ve not seen before, locally”.
“There was no excuse for this. There will be action taken. There will be a reckoning,” he said.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer planned to hold an emergency Cobra meeting on Monday after he called the violence “far-right thuggery”.
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