A priest at Sunderland Minster has slammed yobs who rioted in the city last night after they attempted to smash a headstone in order to use the debris as missiles.
The Reverend Jacqui Tyson said a colleague had reported seeing youths in the graveyard of the minster ‘trying to break up one of the graves’.
Thankfully, her colleague was able to chase off the thugs and lock the gates to prevent further access to the graveyard as the chaos continued to unfold elsewhere in the city in the wake of the Southport stabbings.
But the Rev Tyson has lamented the behaviour of rioters who, fuelled by misinformation on social media about the suspect in the killings, saw fit to commit an ‘act of sacrilege’ by desecrating a gravestone.
The church is located close to where a car was overturned and set on fire, and where police were attacked with fire extinguishers.
Reverend Jacqui Tyson said thugs had attempted to smash up a gravestone during the Sunderland riots
She joined with other local religious leaders to assist with the cleanup in the town centre today
Sunderland Minster, where the graveyard that was desecrated is located. It is close to where riots unfolded in the centre of Sunderland
Thugs ran riot in Sunderland last night, torching a Citizens Advice Bureau next to a police office
A car was also overturned and set alight by rioters who were universally condemned for their thuggish actions
A thug throws a smoke flare at police as the riot kicked off in Sunderland last night
Locals pitch in to help with the clean-up efforts in Sunderland on Saturday morning
The Rev Tyson said of the thugs: ‘They were trying to break up one of the graves in the minster.
‘My colleague and his friend saw them and chased them off. They then locked the gates so no-one else could access the graveyard.’
But she also questioned the wisdom of those who tried to break up the memorial.
She added: ‘It’s an act of sacrilege to disturb someone’s gravestone. It’s also remarkably lacking in common sense – have you tried to pick up a gravestone?’
The reverend has been heartened by the efforts of Sunderland locals to clean up the streets after the chaos unfolded.
Residents and local MPs were out in force this morning with brooms, brushes and even dustpans cleaning up the debris as workmen prepared to remove the burnt-out carcass of a car that had been set on fire.
Rev Tyson said local imams and other members of the clergy had pitched in with efforts to carry out repairs.
A prayer vigil for the victims of the Stockport stabbings will follow later on Saturday, with a peace walk through Sunderland on Sunday afternoon.
She added: ‘There is a lot of shock and anger, so hundreds of people came together to clean up the city.
‘Everybody involved was not just cleaning up, but also talking to each other and expressing good faith and belief in Sunderland, and the fact that racism will not win.’
Chief Superintendent Mark Hall of Northumbria Police said four police officers had been taken to hospital following the riots, including a mounted officer who is still being treated for serious injuries.
He condemned the ‘attempt to drive division amongst us’ and said ‘we are committed to make sure that doesn’t happen’.
And in a warning to those who ran riot, he said: ‘Make no mistake, if you were involved last night, expect to be met with the full force of the law.’
A police officer walks past the burnt out shell of Citizens Advice Sunderland and a ransacked police office on Saturday
Axel Rudakubana (pictured as a child) is charged with murdering three little girls and harming 10 others at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in Southport with a ‘curved kitchen knife’
Elsie Dot Stancombe, aged seven, was also fatally wounded in the attack which shocked the nation on Monday, as misinformation online triggered riots after the tragedy
Bebe King, aged six, was also killed in the attack by the teenager in Southport
Alice Dasilva Aguiar, aged nine, was one of three children killed by a knifeman at a Taylor-Swift themed dance class in Southport
Elsewhere, a GoFundMe launched in support of the Citizens Advice Bureau targeted by firebugs during the riot has raised more than £3,800.
Local woman Sharyn Smiles, who works for a local parent support charity, created the page after her own employer was hit by an arson attack last year.
A GoFundMe spokesperson confirmed to MailOnline that Citizens Advice Sunderland would directly receive all money raised through the donation page.
The Southport stabbings, which claimed the lives of Alice Dasilva Aguiar, nine, Bebe King, six, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, have sparked a wave of anti-immigration protests that have been coordinated online.
More than 30 of these protests are taking place this weekend – with events in Manchester, Leeds, Liverpool, Portsmouth, Hull, Stoke and Belfast taking place earlier today.
Police believe the rallies have been coordinated by elements of the fragmented far-right English Defence League, co-founded by Tommy Robinson.
Robinson, who fled the country earlier this week after being arrested in connection with terror offences ahead of a contempt of court case, has called for his followers to stage ‘peaceful’ protests.
Axel Rudakubana, 17, has been charged with three counts of murder, 10 counts of attempted murder and possession of an offensive weapon.
The judge presiding over his case took the extraordinary step of allowing the teenager to be named in a bid to stem the flow of misinformation about the suspect’s identity.