Hartlepool families have revealed how they were too terrified to leave their homes as rioters wreaked terror on the streets following the Southport knife rampage.
The horrifying stabbing frenzy which claimed the lives of three young girls has seen parts of Britain explode into violence amid false speculation over the suspect’s identity.
Axel Rudakubana, 17, named and pictured as the suspect for the first time today, has appeared in Liverpool Crown Court charged with the three murders of Bebe King, six, Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, and Alice Dasilva Aguiar, nine.
The teenager is also accused of attempting to kill eight children, along with dance teacher Leanne Lucas, 35, and businessman John Hayes.
Fake claims that the suspect, who turns 18 in just six days, was an asylum seeker who arrived in the UK on a boat have fuelled riots in Southport, London, Manchester and Hartlepool.
Rudakubana, who is also charged with possessing an offensive weapon, was born in Cardiff to Rwandan parents in 2006 before his family relocated in 2013 to the quiet Lancashire village of Banks – a 15 minute drive from Southport.
While the Hartlepool community came together to pick up litter and clear the mess up, many were still shaken up from the ugly violence in which rioters torched a police van and hurled glass bottles at police.
Police officers outside a damaged butchers shop on Murray Street in Hartlepool following a violent protest on Wednesday
There was a second night of violence on the streets of Britain last night, including in Hartlepool
Firefighters tend to a burning police car burns as officers are deployed on the streets of Hartlepool last night
There are also fears that the shocking scenes could continue. One woman, who was with a baby, was visibly shaken up as she said: ‘A man just overheard me talking about how disgusting all this is.
‘He said he is going to rape me when he next sees me. He had a young son with him.’
Children as young as ten are said to have taken part in the violence against police.
In October 2023 Moroccan asylum seeker Ahmed Ali, 45, stabbed 70-year-old Terrance Carney to death on nearby Wharton Terrace in the town.
The murder, in which Ali shouted ‘AllahuAkbar’ as he attacked his victim, is still a fresh memory in Hartlepool.
Abdul Kadir, 43, runs the International Food Store on Murray Street, the centre of the violence and stand off with police.
He lives next to the shop with his wife and four children aged one, six, ten and 11. Abdul came under attack by the rioters who hurled bottles and other glass objects at his store.
He was forced to shut his business and stay inside with his family. The day after, members of the community flooded into his shop to offer him support.
Volunteers clear debris on Murray Street in Hartlepool following a violent protest
Like Southport, local community members came together to help clean up the mess
A volunteer clears up bricks which appear to have been launched during ugly scenes
Abdul, who is originally from Kurdistan but has lived in Hartlepool for 21 years, said: ‘At about 7pm police told me to close down because of the violence.
‘The shop was being attacked. People were throwing bottles and shouting.
‘It was horrible. My wife is very upset.
‘Since the murders in Southport she hasn’t wanted to go out with the children.
‘It’s very frightening for them. They usually go to the park to play, but not at the moment. They are too scared to leave the house.
‘Most people in Hartlepool are very friendly and respectful towards us.
‘I understand the upset over what has happened in Southport but we have the support of the community as a whole and despite everything I do feel safe.’
McDonald’s worker Gary Taylor, 40, found himself trapped in his house with his wife and two sons, aged 11 and 14.
He was out on the streets this morning picking up rubbish with his family.
He said: ‘We had kids in the room with us during the riot. We live just off Murray Street where it happened, but there were rioters right outside.
Police officers outside a damaged butchers shop on Murray Street in Hartlepool
‘We heard lots of smashed glass, shouting, the police yelling. We were terrified while it was going on.
‘We wanted to take the children out of there to safety but we couldn’t escape. We would have had to walk through the riot.
‘We couldn’t risk it. When I heard there was a protest I went to have a look.
‘But I quickly realised, this is not a protest it is an angry mob of people.
‘They were drunk. Every single one of them had a joint in their hands. You can smell it.
‘They are angry about what happened in Southport, and also the murder of Terrance Carney.
‘The British don’t feel protected by their own Government. But you can’t solve violence with more violence.’
The Farm Shop, a butchers on Murray Street, had its windows smashed during the rioting after getting caught in the crossfire.
The police had lined up directly outside the store and missiles aimed at officers hit the glass.
HARTLEPOOL: Firefighters attempt to put out the blaze as a police car went up in flames
HARTLEPOOL: Crowds gather to watch the clashes between riot police and protesters
HARTLEPOOL: A protester clashes with riot police officers as violence broke out for a second night running
HARTLEPOOL: Riot police officers on the streets with dogs following a violent protest
The morning after, it was business as usual and doing a roaring trade in meat pies.
The owner didn’t want to speak for fear of reprisal.
One man, who wished to remain anonymous, said: ‘A lot of the rioters were not local.
‘Some of them had come up from South Yorkshire. The owner of the butchers came to his shop last night as he was worried the rioters would break in and steal the knives.
‘What happened in Southport was just an excuse. Why throw things at the police?
‘If it keeps raining it will be less likely to happen again, but if the sun stays out, who knows.
‘There were a lot of bystanders and they could have stopped the rioters if they’d pulled together.
‘The parents of the kids could have helped as well, but they were nowhere to be seen.’
Nancy Pout, 37, is manager of the Salaam Community Centre, which was named as a target by rioters.
When she realised the organisation was under threat she rushed to the building and stood outside with colleagues in a show of solidarity .
Nancy spoke of how a list of addresses of houses of multiple occupancy (HMOs), where many asylum seekers are housed, had been shared on social media.
The post read: ‘Keeping Hartlepool safe.
‘No background on these people just places in Hartlepool.
‘With men / women seeking asylum.
‘Keep watch.’
In heartbreaking scenes, a family from an ethnic minority were forced out of their home during the riot by an angry mob.
One woman was pictured sobbing on the ground before the residents were taken to safety by police.
The windows of their home were smashed and they were too traumatised to speak the following morning.
Nancy said: ‘We were told there was going to a vigil held for the children who were killed in Southport.
‘But then we started to see on social media this was developing into a protest, a march, against immigration and knife crime.
‘Everyone was coming up with different reasons.
‘We spoke to the police who said, we’re not trying to cause alarm but we want you to be aware of what is happening.
‘I made the decision to shut the centre at about 4pm as I had seen that the situation was escalating on social media.
‘We had a dance class due to take place and a prayer session upstairs and I felt I had a duty of care to the local community.
‘It was in response to the riots in Southport. I thought, I don’t know what’s going through people’s minds.
‘I was worried about the violence spreading so we decided to lockdown. Later on, we noticed we had been named as a target on social media.
‘I thought, right, this is our community that’s under attack. It was a difficult decision to make but I wanted to come in and support the local people.
‘When I arrived other members of staff had also turned up. We liaised with police, the mosque and directed people away from the scene.’
Nancy added: ‘It was horrible. There was a large police presence.
‘As time progressed we could hear the riot getting louder and louder. There was chanting and shouting, windows being smashed, dogs barking.
‘It reminded me of reports you see on the news of civil war. It was senseless, awful.
‘In my opinion what’s happened in Southport has been an excuse to go out, cause trouble in the streets and fight.
‘There were definitely out of area communities who came here to take part. We saw taxis pulling up.
‘There were whole families taking part, kids. Some of the youngest ones were around 10-years-old.’
Nancy described how around 100 volunteers had turned up at the centre the morning after to donate money and help with the clear up.
She added: ‘We are picking up the rubbish and the council are collecting it and taking it away.
‘We’re letting everyone know we’re here if they need help. We are a safe place and the kettle is on. We don’t want people to be scared.’
Tahir Selby, imam at Hartlepool’s Nasir Mosque, praised police for their actions in protecting them from disorder in the town on Wednesday evening.
He said at about 6.30pm police asked them to lock the gates because a march was happening in the town centre, and a night class they were running for children was brought to a halt.
He told Hits Radio: ‘I found out that the police had blocked the area to avoid any marches going past the mosque.
‘The police did a tremendous job. We’re very grateful to them. We have a very good relationship with the police and we’re very pleased that nothing happened here.’
Mr Selby said ‘sadly’ the march moved elsewhere in the town where there was disorder which shocked him.
He said: ‘I am very sorry for the police who’s done a tremendous job that they were getting the main bulk of this.’
Mr Selby did not believe the trouble was a reflection of Hartlepool and said the mosque has a good relationship with locals and they have had ‘very good support from people’.
Local MP Jonathan Brash said that the violent unrest ‘doesn’t represent us as a town’.
Suggesting some of those involved in the disorder had come from out of town, Mr Brash told BBC Radio 4’s World At One programme: ‘This has clearly been co-ordinated on social media earlier in the day, so it’s not clear what the mix was in terms of who was there.
‘But what’s very, very clear, and I can’t stress this enough, is the behaviour of that small minority of lawless individuals is not in any way, shape or form reflective of Hartlepool, its people, its values, most of whom have been getting in touch with me today to express their absolute disgust at what we saw on the streets last night.
‘It doesn’t represent us as a town.’
