Harehills disorder one year on: “positives from the negatives” after night of violence
One-year-on since a double-decker bus was torched and a police car flipped on its side as hundreds of people took to the streets, a local councillor said we must take the positives from the negatives
Last updated 18th Jul 2025
One year ago, after children of a family being taken into care by social services and police, disorder started on the streets of Harehills.
Hundreds of people took the streets, and scenes from Harehills started to go viral on social media.
A double-decker bus was torched and a police car flipped on its side. Since then, 77 people have been arrested, 38 people have been charged and 23 people have been convicted.
However, since the scenes in Harehills on the 18 July 2024, Mothin Ali who is the councillor for Gipton and Harehills said: "Whenever something bad happens we have to take the positives from it, that night the community came together to put the fires out, we should be celebrating that.
"Celebrating the fact that there is a lot of community resilience here, we should be highlighting that - we should be taking away the positives from the negatives."
Mr Ali called for calm on the night, he said: "People gathered water in bins, in washing up bowls, people opened their doors filling up big industrial bins with their hosepipes, so its that community spirit that came out and it showed what Harehills is about.
"When the going gets tough, we stick mud in, and get stuck in together."
He has now build a com-UNITY garden at a new community hub in the area, which has been done up in aftermath of the unrest.
Meanwhile, one business owner whose premises is opposite to where the bus was set on fire said the events that night "traumatised" him.
Shopkeeper Miller Kadiri said: "I was called by customers your shop is on the fires, your shop is on the fires."
He goes on to say what happened was "shocking."
The community is back to normal with most telling Cllr Mothin Ali they just want to move on from it.
However, melted plastic and burnt out tarmac is among the reminder of the events.