Cop Tells Looters 'We're Coming To Get You'

A top police officer from Greater Manchester Police has warned rioters who caused havoc in the city on Tuesday night "we know who you are and we are coming to get you".

The force has arrested at least 145 people after "unprecedented levels of violence and criminality" in the city centre and Salford.

Police have announced two men have been jailed for 10 weeks and 16 weeks for their part in Tuesday night's disorder - in what the force called "swift justice" and the "first of many".

Assistant Chief Constable Garry Shewan said: "Shameful destruction saw some of the worst scenes I have ever witnessed as a police officer."

Around 155 fires were reported across the area and at least 100 premises were seriously damaged, along with a number of police vehicles.

Among the shops attacked was a Miss Selfridge, which was set on fire in the city centre.

An 18-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of arson in connection with the incident.

Mr Shewan said: "Make no mistake - these people cannot hide behind any kind of political or moral banner to justify their actions. They are opportunists who have no respect for the law or our fine city.

"They appear to have seen the chance to get away with criminal behaviour on a grand scale but I can assure them they will not get away with this."

Manchester was just one of a series of towns and cities that was hit by wider wave of looting and rioting that spread away from London on Tuesday night.

Merseyside Police said there had been around 50 arrests following incidents of disorder in Liverpool and the Wirral.

After violence was subdued it flared up again after midnight as vehicles were set alight by youths.

Meanwhile in Nottingham, a police station was firebombed and more than 90 people were arrested as rioting blighted various areas.

Canning Circus Police Station was attacked by a group of 30-40 men late on Tuesday night but no injuries were reported, Nottinghamshire Police said.

West Midlands Police said there have been unconfirmed reports that a firearm was used near Aston, an area northeast of Birmingham.

A murder investigation has also been launched after three men were killed in a road traffic collision in the city, but police said it is not known if the deaths are linked to overnight rioting in the area.

Later police confirmed that a total of 157 arrests had been made following the latest disorder in Birmingham, Wolverhampton and West Bromwich.

And three men were hit by a car in Winson Green while apparently protecting the community from looters.

A 32-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of murder.

Riot police were also being attacked by gangs of youths in the South West.

In Gloucester city centre, mounted officers were deployed to combat groups of youths attacking shop windows, some with their faces covered, while a significant fire also broke out in the Brunswick area. Three arrests were made.

And in Bristol, police arrested 19 people following a second night of trouble.

There were also small outbreaks of disorder reported by Thames Valley Police in Reading, Oxford and Milton Keynes.

The first incidents of unrest in Wales have also been reported, with South Wales Police officers attending a number of isolated incidents in the Cardiff area.

Labour leader Ed Miliband has called for a "rapid response" from the Government to aid victims of the rioting.

He branded the violence and vandalism witnessed overnight in Manchester, Salford, Birmingham and Wolverhampton "disgraceful criminal behaviour".

Businesses and shops across London shut down early on Tuesday to protect themselves from gangs of youths who have ransacked buildings across the city over the previous days.

Many firms also sent staff home amid fears that rioters could attack again and the Metropolitan Police flooded the streets with three times the number of officers seen on Monday night.

Thanks to assistance from nearly 30 other forces, some 16,000 policemen and women were on duty on Tuesday night - to quash concerns they were losing control of parts of London.

Police have also released pictures of looting suspects.

Scotland Yard ruled out involving the Army for now but said police were "not scared" of using plastic bullets to restore public order.

London Mayor Boris Johnson has called on ministers to reconsider cutting police numbers in the wake of the rioting.

"This is not a time to think about making substantial cuts in police numbers."

He added that it would be a "good thing" if the Government "had another look" at the issue.

Speaking to Sky News the Met Police's Deputy Assistant Commissioner Steven Kavanagh would not comment on Mr Johnson's comments but said the force is concentrating on keeping the streets safe.

He said: "There are plenty of officers left in the UK."

A man who was attacked as he tried to put out a fire started by rioters in Ealing, west London on Monday night, is fighting for his life in hospital.

On Tuesday night the situation in London appeared relatively calm compared to previous days, with a handful of arrests reported in the Canning Town area in the east of the city.

There were 81 arrests overnight, with the total number of people detained by Scotland Yard since Saturday night at 805.

Some Londoners took to the streets to defend their homes and stores on Tuesday , with a number of people standing guard outside a Sikh temple in Southall, west London.

Another group marched through Enfield, north London, aiming to deter looters.

But Mr Kavanagh told Sky News these groups were not helping: "What I don't need is these so-called vigilantes, who appeared to have been drinking too much and taking policing resources away from what they should have been doing - which is preventing the looting."

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