On a sunny Tuesday afternoon shoppers are milling about Victoria Square in the centre of Bolton. But just 48 hours earlier it was a very different scene.
Bricks and other missiles flew through the air as the Far Right protesters took part in an ugly stand-off with riot police and counter-demonstrators during the wave of violence that has swept the country following the fatal stabbings of three young girls in Southport.
On Monday a judge described the scenes as ‘shameful mass disorder’. And on Tuesday GMP Chief Constable Stephen Watson said 28 people had so far been arrested in connection with the trouble in Bolton and at a similar protest in Manchester city centre on Saturday.
Aref Zakout opened his takeaway on Newport Street just before noon on Sunday and sat outside to drink a coffee. He says the first he knew of any potential violence was when a police officer advised him to take his tables and chairs indoors.
Within an hour he says he was forced to pull down the security shutters as police and protesters clashed on the precinct outside.
Aref, 47, who is originally from Lebanon, said: “Around 1-1.30pm I saw police running and people in front. They were throwing stones right outside. I pulled the shutters down and watched through a hole in the door.
“I saw people fighting. There was a boy about 20, 22. they beat him up. He had blood everywhere, I was shouting ‘Leave him alone’. Luckily the police came straight away.
“It was scary. I was scared for my shop, scared for my customers. My heart was beating like this.
“I’ve been five years in Bolton and 17 years in the UK. I love this country and I care about this country, but I felt ashamed on Sunday.”
Hassan Wazir, 22, who works in HK Kurd Market near the railway station, said his boss decided not to open on Sunday after hearing rumours of the potential violence. He said: “If something had happened to the shop it just wasn’t worth the hassle.”
Asked if he felt angry that the Far Right had disrupted life in his hometown, Hassan replied: “It is what it is. There’s nothing you can do about it.
“I think a lot of it was just kids p****** about. I have never experienced racism in town.
“Day to day it’s not a problem. But in my family, we are telling my parents, my mum and sister not to go out for the time being. We have to be secure and stay safe.”
Another longstanding shopkeeper said he struggled to understand how it had ‘come to this’. The businessman, who asked not to be named, said: “The stabbings in Southport were unbelievably bad, but I don’t see how it’s come to this. But at the same time as a British-born Muslim I’m kind of used to it.
“Any time anything happens in the world it’s like ‘Sod it, let’s blame the Muslims’. It’s bad, but that’s the way it’s always been. I’m old enough to remember how 9/11 and the Iraq war unfolded.
“But I’ve been here nearly 20 years and never had any trouble. Most people are kind and friendly. I just hope the media don’t try to blow it all out of proportion.”
Standing behind the counter at nearby newsagents News Box, Omar Mohammed, 19, says the family-run business also decided not to open on Sunday. He said: “We came down and watched from afar just to make sure nothing happened to the shop.
“I thought the police did a really good job. There was no looting, no rioting like there was in other towns and cities.
“Now it’s all fine again. I think it was just a few bad apples. I’ve ever seen anything like that here before. I’ve never experienced racism, no slurs, nothing. Bolton is not a bad town.”
