Community looks back at Middlesbrough riots one year on

Shocking scenes on August 4, 2024, saw balaclava-clad thugs torch cars, shatter windows and clash with riot police. 

Cleveland Police's dog unit and the mounted section were also called after unrest was fuelled by misinformation on social media. 

One year on, The Northern Echo visited Linthorpe Road to speak to business owners who were directly affected.

Linthorpe Road, Middlesbrough. (Image: NORTHERN ECHO)

For Nida Fatina, who works at the Asian Grocery Store, the riots came as a brutal shock. Nida, of Parliament Road, described the scenes as "scary".

Violence in Middlesbrough on August 4, 2024. (Image: The Northern Echo, Contributor)

The 30-year-old had only been living in Middlesbrough for a matter of weeks before the events unfolded.

She said: "I was so confused. When I first came to the UK, I thought it would be safe. So when I saw the riots, it was so shocking to me.

"You would think that something like that could never happen here. Even after the riots finished, for days after, I was worried. I wondered whether I should continue to wear my hijab, because most of the people they were targeting were like me.

The Asian Grocery Store on Linthorpe Road. (Image: NORTHERN ECHO)"It was scary. Even two months after, I was using Uber to go everywhere just to be safe. I think, one year on, things are a bit better now. But, I still won't go out at night. I fear that anyone could come out of nowhere and target me."

Shiva Maraka works at HK News, and was, luckily, not caught up in the violence but watched it all unfold online.

Shiva Maraka, 24. (Image: NORTHERN ECHO) The 24-year-old, who moved from India to the UK two years ago, hopes there will never be a repeat of the riots.

He said: "People gathered along the road and were damaging windows and cars, stealing things from shops they broke into.

"Everything along here was closed - it was the first time in ten years being open that we had to close for something like this.

Rioters clashing with police in Middlesbrough. (Image: NORTHERN ECHO) "The UK is a great place to live, but I never thought something like this would happen here. There are laws here to stop things like this.

"I don't want there to be a next time."

He added: "On that day, I was really scared. On TikTok, I saw people burning vehicles and damaging everything. I watched it all from the shop security cameras."

Skins & Needles, Linthorpe Road. (Image: NORTHERN ECHO) Further down Linthorpe Road is tattoo parlour Skins & Needles. After they heard rumblings of possible unrest the night before, they decided to close on August 4.

One member of staff, Josh Johnson, recalled the riots witnessed by staff through CCTV.

The 22-year-old said: "We were okay to be fair, we were basically watching it live through the security cameras. Every time we tuned in, there were people outside the building.

"It was chaos - it was like a warzone."

Business owner Hussain Moh moved to the UK from Iran 12 years ago, and said Middlesbrough now feels like home to him.

Hussain Moh, 41. (Image: NORTHERN ECHO) The 41-year-old owns xFix, a phone repair shop, and believes that while things have got better in the town, the impact of the riots lingers.

He said: "They started from the town centre and came along this way, they burned a car right behind my shop.

"It was quite scary. Most of them were kids, I was watching them smash windows and destroy things."

"I think it's getting better - but I still think it lingers."

A torched car in Middlesbrough. (Image: MICHAEL ROBINSON) By the time the riots happened in Middlesbrough, similar pockets of unrest had been contained in Sunderland and Hartlepool just days before, sparked by the murder of three girls hundreds of miles away from the North East.

Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, Bebe King, six, and Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine were killed while attending a Taylor Swift themed dance class in Southport on Monday, July 29.

Their killer, then 17-year-old Axel Rudakubana was sentenced in January to a minimum of 52 years in prison for their murders.