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Cops hunt 11 people after massive riots break out in Swansea during vigil for Ethan Powell with cars set on fire

2021-07-22 00:00:00.0 太阳报-英国新闻原网页

COPS are hunting rioters who torched cars and pelted houses with bricks during a vigil for a teenager.

A gallery of 11 images of potential suspects has been released following the mayhem in Swansea in May.

Gangs of yobs set fire to cars and rolled them down a hill in Swansea Credit: WNS 5

Police have released a gallery of suspected rioters following the May mayhem

Friends of 19-year-old Ethan Powell had organised a balloon release event in his memory following his sudden death.

But the gathering blew up into a full-scale riot, with crowds pelting police vans with rocks and cheering as burning cars were sent crashing down a hill.

A total of 200 yobs were involved in the carnage in Mayhill, South Wales, on May 20, and police confirmed 31 people have been arrested so far.

But officers hope making their rogues gallery of suspected rioters public will result in more people coming forward.

The 11-strong line-up features several young looking men and includes two teenage girls.

The vigil saw terrified residents hunker down in their homes as their cars were destroyed outside and bricks were hurled through their windows.

A six-year-old boy even asked "are we going to die mummy?"

'DISGUSTING THUGS'

Seven police officers suffered minor injuries after brazen yobs launched missiles at them.

Friends and relatives of Ethan slammed the "disgusting" thugs.

The teenager's cousin Tegan Davies said: "The videos I’ve been sent are disgusting, I know Ethan would never have taken it this far.

"Bikes and balloons we said, not a f***ing riot!"

And his dad Jonathan Russ told The Sun Online: "Ethan would have found it disgusting - it’s not something we want to be associated with."

The critical task for us has been to identify those who were specifically involved in committing criminal offences that evening.

Detective Superintendent Gareth Morgan

Detective Superintendent Gareth Morgan said: "I would like to thank the local community for its assistance throughout the course of our investigations.

"The large majority that were present that night were not actively involved in the disorder.

"The critical task for us has been to identify those who were specifically involved in committing criminal offences that evening.

"What happened that night has had a huge impact on many families and people, the effect of which has continued for some time.

"The investigation team have had a challenging task in reviewing in excess of 800 pieces of evidence from CCTV and social media footage which has been obtained.

"Given that volume of footage any help the public can offer in assisting with identifying these persons is considerable.

"I appreciate that the quality of the images is not very clear, but I am hoping that people may recognise some of those in the gallery imagery."