Riots break out in UK's Leeds, bus set on fire, police car overturned

 A bus was set on fire and a police car was overturned as violence broke out in a neighbourhood in the northern English city of Leeds on Thursday after the police and local officials intervened in a "family incident". Residents were urged to stay at home and a large number of police personnel were deployed to Harehills.

The chaos was linked to children being taken into government care by local officials in Luxor Street in the Harehills area, The Guardian reported. Eyewitnesses said some people in the community responded by setting fires and "throwing stones".

“There was a family incident earlier in the day that the police attended and our officials attended that a lot of the community got concerned about,” Tom Riordan, chief executive of the Leeds City Council, said in an interview with the BBC. “And that appeared to be the trigger of concern for groups of people being concerned about what had happened.”

West Yorkshire Police said further "pockets of disorder" had broken out while responding to the situation and more officers were deployed to "assist with the management of this incident".

Videos on social media showed a large number of people on the street and a police car being attacked with its windows shattered before it was overturned. One person was seen setting fire to the bus while others threw debris at it.

UK Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said she was left "appalled" by the "shocking scenes" of unrest and said she was being regularly updated about the situation. She thanked the West Yorkshire Police for their response.

"I am appalled at the shocking scenes and attacks on police vehicles and public transport in Leeds tonight. Disorder of this nature has no place in our society. My thanks go to West Yorkshire police for their response. I am being kept regularly updated," she tweeted.

Councillor Salma Arif, for Gipton and Harehills, posted a video in which she was seen with a police officer and advised people to remain at home.