We won’t be beaten…
RESIDENTS and businesses in Birkenhead were left counting the cost after last week’s violence across the UK spread to Wirral.
Despite appeals for calm by council leaders, police had to seal off the town centre last Tuesday night after 100 youths gathered in Park Road South.
The crowd filtered away when police arrived but trouble flared again at 12.30am with reports of vandalism and vehicles being set alight.
Windows at McDonald’s in Charing Cross were smashed by bricks while windows at William Hill and Ladbrokes on Grange Road were also attacked.
The doors of the Pyramids centre were kicked in, although there was no confirmation of any looting.
By Thursday lunchtime, most of the damaged cars had been towed away and the street was returning to normality, with broken glass swept away.
But tensions remained high, with one woman seen chasing off two young boys on bicycles who were examining a burned-out car.
The violence was confined to Birkenhead town centre despite rumours spreading on social networking sites about a “mob” gathering in Hamilton Square and setting buses on fire in other parts of Wirral.
This week Wirral Council leader Steve Foulkes said: “I was surprised, this sort of disorder is mainly connected with big cities. It’s been a shock to the system.”
