Six people have been arrested on suspicion of violent disorder after emergency crews were attacked during Bonfire Night disorder in Meadow Well, North Shields. Northumbria Police said officers were called to Waterville Road just before 8pm on Thursday 5 November, after reports of a gathering outside a building where fireworks and bricks were being thrown and a car had been used to ram the premises.

Several officers were injured in the disorder, and five police cars and three fire engines were damaged. Fireworks, bricks and other missiles were thrown at police and firefighters as they responded to the scene. An arrest is not a finding of guilt, and none of those arrested has been charged.

Police say the disorder was pre-arranged and linked to misinformation circulating in the community about the future use of the building. The building was wrongly believed to be destined to become a house in multiple occupation for asylum seekers. Police have confirmed that is not the case: the site is expected to become a Heron Foods supermarket, with private flats above.

Those arrested are two men aged 25 and 27, a 27-year-old woman and three teenage boys. All six remained in police custody when the force issued its statement on Friday. Chief Superintendent Daniel Whyte, area commander for North Tyneside, said anyone else involved in the disorder should expect a "knock on the door", and police said further arrests were likely, with patrols increased in the area.

Police have appealed for witnesses and footage, asking anyone with information to call 101 quoting reference NP-20261105-0757. The Meadow Well estate was the scene of serious rioting in the early 1990s, and community leaders have moved quickly to correct the false rumour about the building's future use.

[Source: britbrief.co.uk](https://britbrief.co.uk/crime/violence/six-arrested-after-meadow-well-bonfire-night-violence.html) | [Source: whitleybaynews.co.uk](https://www.whitleybaynews.co.uk/meadow-well-bonfire-night-disorder-six-arrested/)