Five arrested after mass brawl in Sunderland saw men with weapons fighting in the street and cars set alight

At about 6.45pm on Sunday, April 5, it was reported that a group of men were arguing in Ridley Street which escalated in to violence and the brandishing of weapons.

During the initial disturbance, vehicles were also driven in a dangerous manner, which resulted in a number of crashes, and individuals were almost struck.

Officers were called to the scene and the majority of the group have dispersed from the area.

Nobody was seriously injured during the disturbance.

Following this incident, officers then received a number of reports of further, linked criminality where three cars had been set on fire on Ridley Street, Winslow Close and Southwick Road.

So far five people have been arrested as part of Northumbria Police’s investigation into all of the incidents.

Now, Superintendent Barrie Joisce has appealed for anyone who witnessed the initial disturbance, or has information about the car fires, to come forward.

“The initial disturbance has seen an escalation in violence that has included members of the public armed with weapons in the street.

“People have been assaulted, property has been badly damaged and vehicles have even been used as weapons.

“We are treating further incidents of arson as linked at this moment in time and a full investigation is ongoing to piece everything together.

“What I want to make clear is that this type of behaviour is completely unacceptable and we will deal with it in a robust manner.

“A number of people are in custody at this time and I expect further arrests over the coming days.

“These incidents involved offenders who are known to each other and wider risk to the public is low.

“We need to speak to anyone with information about these incidents, or anyone who witnessed what has happened, to get in touch with us immediately.”

Anyone with information about the initial disturbance, or the subsequent car fires, is asked to call police on 101 quoting log 909 05/04/20.

Or report online using the ‘Tell us Something’ pages of the Northumbria Police website or call independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

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