grounds: the news club for central Birmingham

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Aug 8 / 8:38pm

Colmore Row caught in middle of riots

by Matt Kamen

As an offshoot of the London riots of recent days in Tottenham and Enfield, violence erupted in Birmingham City Centre this evening. Crowds consisting mostly of youths attacked the Bullring shopping centre before spreading further into the city.

Several businesses along Colmore Row were attacked, and small groups of offenders were seen running away from police along Church Street and Edmund Street. Reports of St. Philip's Cathedral being firebombed are unsubstantiated at time of writing.

Currently, police presence along Colmore Row and side roads extending into the Colmore Business District is heavy, with dog units in operation.

UPDATE, 10pm: Police presence on Colmore Row is now largely diminished, though some minor disturbances persist near Victoria Square.

2 comments

Aug 08, 2011
simon gray said...
i'm sorry, but this report is just plain and simple bullshit; whilst it's true that the city centre was a tense place with sporadic groups of youth breaking into mobile phone shops (& cybercandy) and looting them, it is just not true that 'crowds' 'attacked' the bullring. it's so untrue that the cathedral was firebombed that it's just grossly irresponsible of you to even suggest it had been without having any evidence of it yourselves.
Aug 09, 2011
Peter said...

St Philip’s Cathedral is fine and the Cathedral staff, along with other City Centre clergy, are out and about supporting those businesses caught up in the vandalism.<o:p></o:p>

Our Dean, the Very Revd Catherine Ogle, is on Radio WM at 11.30 this morning to talk about the Christian response to what has happened.<o:p></o:p>

Peter Chapman<o:p></o:p>

On behalf of St Philip’s Cathedral<o:p></o:p>

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