A trail of destruction was left on the streets of Southampton after Tuesday night’s anti-police protest over Henry Nowak’s murder, with car windows smashed and bricks strewn across roads.
The demonstration began relatively peacefully outside Southampton central police station but turned ugly when hundreds marched across the city to the neighbourhood where Nowak died and where his killer, Vickrum Digwa, lived.
Protesters hurled bricks, wheelie bins, bottles and beer cans at riot police as officers in riot gear stopped them reaching Digwa’s family home.
On Wednesday, residents in the Portswood area said they were terrified as protesters gathered near their homes.
Sophie Martin, who is a near neighbour of the Digwa family, saidboth of their families’ cars were smashed up.
She said: “It was absolutely terrifying. Our two young boys were asleep. It is just an absolute destruction, and I just thought, what am I going to tell the kids, they’re three and six.
“It was absolutely petrifying. I know they weren’t targeting us but my other half has decided not to go to work today.
“There is glass absolutely everywhere. We are going to be massively out of pocket. Even when the rioting had stopped and we had taped up the cars we still couldn’t sleep because we were worried they would come back. A few people have said we should move out for a bit.’”
The far-right activist Tommy Robinson was among those who addressed crowds outside the police station during the protest billed as “Justice for Henry Nowak”.
People chanted: “Racist police, off our streets” and “Shame on you”. They held union flags and homemade signs with slogans such as “Henry’s blood is on your hands”, “Save our kids” and “Prison 4 police on scene”.
Nowak, a student at the University of Southampton, was stabbed five times by Digwa. Police arrested and handcuffed Nowak after Digwa claimed the teenager had racially abused and assaulted him.
After Digwa was jailed, Nowak’s father, Mark Nowak, condemned the “inhumane and degrading” treatment of his son by police, but added: “We do not want his death to be used to create further division, hatred or tension. We want his story to help make our streets safer for everyone.”
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