Rioters will be ‘robustly dealt with’ says South Wales Police

Rioters set fire to cars and threw missiles at police after a vigil in the Mayhill area descended into violence, with a number of buildings also damaged.

Assistant Chief Constable Jenny Gilmer said those involved “will be robustly dealt with”.

“These are scenes we do not expect to see in our communities and our officers should not expect to have to confront situations like this when they go to work at the start of their shift,” she said.

“I want to reassure the residents of Mayhill that we shall be maintaining an enhanced police presence throughout the weekend.

“If those involved choose to return and further threaten public safety in the community of Mayhill they will be robustly dealt with.

“The level of violence towards emergency services and the damage to buildings and vehicles was totally unacceptable.”

Ms Gilmer said their focus now is to “fully investigate this appalling incident”.

She said they will be using CCTV and social media footage to help identify and arrest those responsible and is urging anyone with photographs or video footage to send it to the force.

South Wales Police said the response to the incident “was immediate” and officers trained to deal with public order incidents were deployed to the scene.

Four ‘local’ males have so far been arrested in connection with violent disorder. The men, aged 36, 20, 18 and 16, have been detained on suspicion of unlawful violence and remain in police custody.

Detective Superintendent Gareth Morgan, who is leading the investigation for South Wales Police, said: “We have a dedicated team of detectives who are carrying out extensive inquiries to identify those involved and we are ready to act upon any information received.

“Detectives and uniform officers will be present and visible in the community over the coming days and weeks with further arrests expected.”