Thousands Mourn Riot Hit-And-Run Victims

Thousands of mourners have gathered for an open-air funeral service in honour of three Birmingham men killed as they tried to protect businesses from looters.

Haroon Jahan, 21, and brothers Shazad Ali, 30, and Abdul Musavir, 31, died after being deliberately hit by a car on Dudley Road, Winson Green.

Sheikh Mohammed Al Yacoobi delivered a speech to the crowd assembled at the city's Summerfield Park.

"These three martyrs sacrificing themselves to defend their community, to defend their family members, to defend their homes," he said.

"They made an example of how a Muslim should be and what Islam is."

Tariq Jahan, whose son Haroon was one of the victims, received flowers from people in the crowd.

Hours after losing his son he had appealed to a volatile group to show restraint - and many say his message has endured.

"We are witnessing the coming together of something quite unique," said Councillor Ayoub Khan, who spoke on behalf of the victims' families.

"Our communities of all faiths and non-faiths and of all ethnicities, we have rallied as one like possibly we have never seen before."

The traditional Muslim service was held in the park, nearby scene of the murders, with an open invitation for all to attend before private burials.

One man at the gathering told Sky News: "We wanted to show solidarity with our Muslim friends. We're Christian of course."

"I came here initially because I was representing the Jewish community at Sunday's peace rally," said another.

"But I'm also a shopkeeper and the way those men put their lives on the line for the community and tragically got murdered, and the way Tariq has dealt with the situation, it says so much."

A fourth person had appeared before magistrates earlier in the day charged over the murders.

Ian Beckford, 30, from Quinton, was remanded in custody and will appear at Birmingham Crown Court on Friday.

Joshua Donald, 26, from Ladywood, Adam King, 23, from Kings Norton, and a 17-year-old boy from Edgbaston, who cannot be named for legal reasons, have also been charged with three counts of murder.

A teenager and two men have been released on police bail.