Looters make off with ‘armfuls of wine’ in weekend riots

During riots that kicked off across the north of England in the wake of the Southport murders, looters were seen pillaging “armfuls” of wine bottles after storming a Manchester store.

Chaos erupted in UK cities this weekend and more than 90 people arrested as demonstrations turned ugly. The conflict was ignited by the fatal stabbing of three children attending a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in Southport, Merseyside on 29 July.

After a judge allowed the alleged perpetrator of the crime to be named, several mosques including those in Southport, Sunderland and Liverpool were targeted by Far Right protestors, and a police station torched.

In Manchester, hundreds of protestors clashed on the morning of Saturday 3 August when 150 people marching under the banner ‘Stand Up For Your Country: Enough is Enough’ were met by a counter rally of around 350 demonstrators.

As tensions flared, metal fences were torn down and hurled at police officers, and local stores set alight. Greater Manchester Police said it had afforded its officers extra powers to deal with anyone taking part in anti-social behaviour via the section 34 law, with a dispersal order put in place in the city until 7pm.

Wine theft

At 3.25pm a group of men wearing masks and balaclavas raided a Sainsbury’s store in Manchester’s Mosley Street, trashing the premises and stealing alcohol.

Bystanders photographed the individuals fleeing the store laden with “armfuls of wine”, the security tags still on the bottles. In one photograph a man wearing a white Nike Tshirt can be seen exiting the store with a wine stash that included bottles by New Zealand producer Villa Maria and Australia’s Yellow Tail.

In video footage another man can be heard urging looters: “Go get the beers!”

A “shocked” witness who filmed the scene said: “It was a drinking session to loot and cause havoc while the [actual] cause hasn’t been recognised by these mobs.”

The shop was later forced to close.

In Merseyside, riots began when an anti-immigration rally came face to face with an anti-racism demonstration on County Road. The clash involved some 300 people who “from the start were intent on committing serious violence and disorder,” said the local police force in a statement. A library was set on fire, a tobacco and vape shop was ransacked and missiles thrown at fire engines.

Riots also broke out in Blackpool, Hull, Leeds, Middlesbrough and Stoke-on-Trent this weekend, while in Rotherham a hotel housing asylum seekers was allegedly broken into and vandalised.

Dr Abdul Hamid, chairman of the Abdullah Quilliam Mosque mosque in Liverpool, told BBC News he believes there is a “fear of the unknown”, adding: “If they don’t get answers, they will try to find any excuse to label you.”

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