“I felt a real sense of hope after seeing the efforts people had gone to to fix the damage of the night before”
There’s a well-used phrase in local newsrooms around the UK that we’re still here long after the national news pack has moved on.
A strong example of that was in Sunderland on Saturday, when Northern Echo reporter Tom Burgess joined communities clearing up after the riots which had gone on the night before.
Here, he found a scene of hope, and a sense of determination that Sunderland wouldn’t be dragged down.
He wrote: “I wasn’t sure what to expect as I drove up to Sunderland, I had seen pictures of buildings and cars burning on Friday night.
“Walking up High Street West I could see a crowd of hundreds gathered near the burnt out remains of a car.
“Everyone was holding brooms and bin bags to collect rubbish and I was amazed by how clean everything was so early in the morning.
“It was a real mix of the community clearing up, once the burnt out car was moved everyone with a broom went to work scrubbing the road free of the debris.
“The overwhelming message from everybody that I spoke to was that they believed the real Sunderland was on display this morning.
“Everyone I spoke to on the streets was horrified by the mindless damage which had been done.”
The impact of the rioting is likely to live long in the memory, Tom said.
“The most shocking moment of my day was speaking to Reverend Chris Howson about his experiences protecting gravestones the night before.
“He described having to chase people out of the Sunderland Minster grounds and locking the gates.
“This was after rioters were “trying to lever the gravestones to throw them” at the police below.
“I hope that people across the country do not associate the violence and thuggery of last night with the people of Sunderland — they were out today repairing the city they love.”
