heaven above
11-15-2004, 01:35 PM
Asylum fury led to rival gang fights Sheffield Star
IMMIGRATION authorities were stopped from sending asylum seekers to part of Doncaster for more than a month after tensions between white and middle-eastern men spilled over into violence.
South Yorkshire Police app-lied to the Government for a moratorium to halt the dispersal of "middle eastern males" into Hexthorpe, at the end of September, following street fighting between rival gangs.
Two people needed hospital treatment following the clashes, in which knives were brandished and pub windows smashed. Seven people were arrested.
Today, Chief Inspector Adrian Moran announced police have applied for the measure to be lifted following the success of work to break down barriers between different groups living in the area.
He said: "There was a moratorium in place on sending single middle-eastern males to Hexthorpe for approximately six weeks.
"It applied only to those supported by the National Asylum Support Agency, and did not cover asylum seekers such as families or Eastern Europeans, or refugees."
Ch Insp Moran added: "It was only one of a number of measures put in place in the area to ease tensions. We've also had a number of meetings with community leaders..
"Other initiatives have included high-visibility police patrols, the installation of a CCTV system, and we've also set up a community support office in the area."
Ch Insp Moran said he did not think the moratorium on asylum seekers would have had any effect on the situation in Hexthorpe if it had been implemented on its own.
Doncaster was one of seven places across the country where dispersal of asylum seekers has been halted at the request of the police.
15 November 2004
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IMMIGRATION authorities were stopped from sending asylum seekers to part of Doncaster for more than a month after tensions between white and middle-eastern men spilled over into violence.
South Yorkshire Police app-lied to the Government for a moratorium to halt the dispersal of "middle eastern males" into Hexthorpe, at the end of September, following street fighting between rival gangs.
Two people needed hospital treatment following the clashes, in which knives were brandished and pub windows smashed. Seven people were arrested.
Today, Chief Inspector Adrian Moran announced police have applied for the measure to be lifted following the success of work to break down barriers between different groups living in the area.
He said: "There was a moratorium in place on sending single middle-eastern males to Hexthorpe for approximately six weeks.
"It applied only to those supported by the National Asylum Support Agency, and did not cover asylum seekers such as families or Eastern Europeans, or refugees."
Ch Insp Moran added: "It was only one of a number of measures put in place in the area to ease tensions. We've also had a number of meetings with community leaders..
"Other initiatives have included high-visibility police patrols, the installation of a CCTV system, and we've also set up a community support office in the area."
Ch Insp Moran said he did not think the moratorium on asylum seekers would have had any effect on the situation in Hexthorpe if it had been implemented on its own.
Doncaster was one of seven places across the country where dispersal of asylum seekers has been halted at the request of the police.
15 November 2004
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