Six held after Lincoln unrest

POLICE arrested six people yesterday after further disturbances on a Lincoln housing estate.

At least two petrol bombs have been thrown at police in clashes with local youths and police since the trouble started on Thursday in the St Giles area of the city. Two unused petrol bombs were found on the estate by officers yesterday.

Those arrested include two juveniles who were held as a 'preventive' measure after equipment for making petrol bombs was discovered. The latest arrests brought the total to 13 since the trouble began.

Petrol bombs were thrown at police on Saturday night. Officers in riot gear were also pelted with stones and bricks though no officers were hurt.

Trouble first broke out on Thursday night after a crowd of up to 300 people attacked a shop. The owners, Bob and Dot Dunderdale, had been accused of passing information to police and were allegedly threatened in the shop. They ceased trading last week and were forced to move to a secret address.

The shop was broken into and remaining stock looted. Normal police patrols were harassed as tension increased and the decision was taken to bring in reinforcements from other parts of the county, some equipped with riot shields.

On Saturday night and yesterday morning, about 30 youths clashed with officers, but yesterday the streets were calm. 'It is peculiarly quiet. There is a strong police presence,' a police spokesman said.

Senior police officers met community leaders for talks which they later described as fruitful. A police spokesman praised the efforts of community leaders trying to calm the situation. Larry Wells, a councillor, was assaulted when he tried to prevent people from attacking the store. He was unharmed but his suit was torn.

In Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, 11 police officers were injured after fighting broke out in a takeaway restaurant early yesterday. Those treated in hospital included one officer with a stab wound and another with a suspected fractured hand.

They were hurt trying to disperse a crowd of 80 people, many of whom were fighting, after an altercation between a customer and a member of staff spilled on to the street.

In Hinckley, Leicestershire, Scott Blyth, 16, was stabbed to death early yesterday in a brawl outside a nightclub. Lyndon Green, 25, was stable in hospital last night with serious stab wounds. Police were questioning a number of people.