Bricks thrown at police and locals ‘terrified in own homes’ during ‘serious violence’ in North East village

A County Durham village saw “pockets of serious violence” on Good Friday evening, the police said.

“Disorder” on Good Friday saw bricks thrown at police officers and “pockets of serious violence” in Horden, County Durham, police reported. One man has subsequently been arrested while a senior cop said some people had been left “terrified in their own homes”.

Police officers were deployed at around 9.15pm in the evening to Tenth Street in the town, where “large crowds” had gathered, Durham Constabulary has said. In addition to the arrest made thus far, the police said officers were reviewing body-worn camera footage in order to “identify further offenders”.

The police force said “demands were made for an individual to be removed from the area”. In a statement, force representatives added: “This resulted in pockets of serious violence, which saw bricks being thrown at police officers and extensive damage caused to a house. A van containing police dogs was also rammed by an e-bike.”

A man, 20, was arrested on Saturday and remains in police custody. Ch Supt Andrea Arthur said: “While we will always uphold the right to lawful protest, we will take necessary action against anyone who deliberately chooses to act outside the law.

“The behaviour of certain individuals yesterday evening was appalling – they engaged in vile and destructive behaviour, attacking the police officers who were deployed to protect members of the public, and caused other residents to feel terrified in their own homes.

“We will not tolerate violent disorder of this nature in our communities. Those involved in the disorder were captured on bodycam and officers are reviewing footage to identify further offenders. We will do everything in our power to find those responsible, and deal with them robustly to protect our community.”

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