Police have so far confirmed that four people have so far been arrested after violence flared last night
Meanwhile Residents of Southport have been spending the morning in a huge clean up on the streets
People came together to repair the wall outside the Mosque where the disturbance started while people clubbed together to clear debris off the streets
Fifty three officers were injured, and of those, 49 were Merseyside Police officers and four were from Lancashire Police
Eight of these officers sustained serious injuries, including fractures, lacerations, a suspected broken nose and concussion.
Other officers sustained varying degrees of injury including head injures, serious facial injuries and one was knocked unconscious
Those so far arrested are a 31-year-old man from St Helens on suspicion of Violent Disorder as was a 31-year-old man from West Derby, Liverpool, a 39-year-old man from Southport and 32-year-old man from Manchester with a probation address in Southport was arrested on suspicion of Affray and Possession of a bladed article
The offenders destroyed garden walls to use the bricks as missiles to attack officers and set cars belonging to the public on fire at random. Those involved also threw bricks at the local Mosque, damaged a local convenience store, and set wheelie bins on fire.
The Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said of last night’s violent scenes:
“Brave police, firefighters & paramedics saved lives in the horrific Southport attack.Total disgrace those same emergency services were attacked & officers injured by violent thugs from out of town.”
Three police dogs were also injured. After having bricks thrown at them, Police Dog Zoe sustained a laceration to her leg, has been stitched and is now resting, and PD Ike is recovering after sustaining a cut mouth and swelling to his front leg. PD Quga suffered burns to her back leg. A fourth dog, PD Repo, was spared injury after their handler kicked petrol away
A number of tradesmen have reportedly given their time and resources for free, while a glazing company has also offered free window repairs at the Mosque
Meanwhile police have been granted more time to question the 17-year-old arrested on suspicion of the knife attack in Southport that killed three children
After the first 48 hours, police can apply for permission from magistrates to hold a suspect for up to a total of 96 hours without charge.
