Support truly
independent journalism
When far-right rioters started throwing bottles at police officers guarding an asylum seeker hotel, local resident Becky Brunt decided it was time for her family to flee the area.
She had been watching the chaos unfold streets away from her estate on a TikTok live-stream and as the crowds grew around their home, she decided it would be safer to stay with her mother-in-law in Sheffield.
The family returned when the violence had died down at around midnight on Sunday. And the next morning, they spoke to The Independent outside the hotel where they were clearing up after the devastation.
Adam Brunt, 42, who had brought along a bucket and shovel to clear up the broken glass, condemned the lies that people outside the area had spread about the asylum seekers living inside the hotel.
“People think they’re getting loads of money and they’re not. I see them in Aldi and they just buy a loaf of bread and a can of pop,” he said.
“We have the most overfed ducks in the world. That’s their only negative contribution to society. And increased flip-flop use. The kids are well into flip flops now but if that’s the cultural exchange, then I think I can cope with that,” said Adam, who had been clearing the road since 9.30am.
“I can’t believe the lies that the people who don’t even live here were saying. Initially, the hotel was used for Afghan families and we were totally on board with that.
“When they said single people were going to be moved in, we were apprehensive but as the months turned into years, we have had absolutely no bother from these people whatsoever.”
The hotel, a Holiday Inn Express north of Rotherham, had been housing asylum seekers for three years.
It is one of several locations that have become a focus for far-right demonstrations after the stabbing of three young children in Southport. A British 17-year-old has been charged with three counts of murder and 10 of attempted murder.
Rioters set parts of the building on fire on Sunday and pelted it with rocks and debris while asylum seekers were inside. Men in balaclavas managed to push their way through a shattered window into part of the building, with police seemingly overwhelmed by the number of protesters.
Becky Brunt, 36, said: “At about 12.30pm, we were watching the live feed on TikTok and we saw bottles being thrown at the police. That’s when I decided we needed to go. I just thought, it’s starting already, I don’t want to be in the area now.
“At around 11pm, we came back to the estate and asked police if it was safe for us to stay at home.”
Mr Brunt described being “at the mercy of watching the social media feeds of the people doing the rioting to know when it was safe to come back or not”.
He said he had never seen so many cars in the area.
He said none of the rioters were local and that they had all driven in, adding: “We’ve lived here four years and we’ve never seen so many, not even when we had concerts at the lake.”
Speaking about the asylum seekers living in the Holiday Inn, Ms Brunt said: “This area isn’t suitable for them. There’s nothing for them to do and there’s no public transport for them to go anywhere.”
Michelle Peverely, 65, who went to the hotel on Monday morning to clear up debris, said: “The buggers [far right] will not break us. We are not going to have our estate and homes devastated like this. We were in fear last night.”
She said she froze as thugs marauded down her street looking for stones to steal off residents’ patios.
Referring to the asylum seekers trapped inside the hotel, she said: “Those poor guys, can you imagine how they feel? They’ve gone through so much and come here to this. They must think they’re in Beirut.”
She said the rioters will not stop people living happily in the area, adding: “They can’t see how strong we are and how determined.”
Richard Barker, 53, who was also at the hotel to help out, said it did not help that the hotel’s use for asylum seekers had been extended twice.
“I think the local community were OK with it being used for a bit but it’s been like this for three years,” he said. “It used to be a lovely hotel that we could use for family coming to stay.”
Vicky Allott, 51, who shares two children with Mr Barker, said they made the decision to keep their kids with their father overnight instead of bringing them home.
“They’re both disabled and autistic so they were panicking,” she said. “We kept them out at their dad’s as I live close to the hotel.”
So far, six arrests have been made and one person has been charged following the violent disorder at the Rotherham hotel. Ten police officers were injured.
Assistant Chief Constable Lindsey Butterfield said: “Officers have worked through the night to begin identifying those involved in these horrendous scenes. Please be assured, if you were there, we will find you, and you will be held accountable for your part in yesterday’s violence.”
Visiting the scene, defence secretary John Healey praised the “massive turnout of local people” to help with the clean-up operation.
Speaking about the riot, he added: “This was on a scale that we’ve not seen before locally. There was no excuse for this. There will be action taken. There will be a reckoning.”
