‘It’s horrible how scared people were’: Southampton returns to calm after riots

A large bin burns as violent clashes erupt in Southampton. Photograph: Christopher Walls/SOPA Images/Shutterstock View image in fullscreen A large bin burns as violent clashes erupt in Southampton. Photograph: Christopher Walls/SOPA Images/Shutterstock ‘It’s horrible how scared people were’: Southampton returns to calm after riots Clear-up has begun but psychological impact likely to last much longer as community recovers from violent protests T he clean up was quick. The day after an anti-police demonstration turned violent in the Portswood area of Southampton , workers cleared up broken glass and fixed fences that had been torn down to use as missiles against officers. But the psychological impact is likely to last much longer. People who live near the scene of the disturbances described their fear and anger, and many said they were sure that the family of Henry Nowak, who was handcuffed by police as he bled to death after being falsely accused of racism, would be horrified at what unfolded. Members of the Sikh community also said they were facing threats because of the violence of Nowak’s killer, Vikrum Digwa, and the failings of the police. Sophie Martin, who lives close to where far-right protesters clashed with officers in riot gear, was found fixing tarpaulin over the back windows of her family’s two smashed cars. View image in fullscreen Sophie Martin: ‘I didn’t feel safe last night.’ Photograph: Andrew Croft/Solent News & Photo Agency/Solent News “My kids car seats are covered in glass,” she said. “I saw [people holding] signs saying ‘protect the kids’, ‘safety is a privilege’. Well, I didn’t feel safe last night.” Satvir Kaur, the Labour MP for Southampton Test and the first female Sikh to become a UK government minister, was knocking on doors to check people were safe. She regretted having to have a security guard alongside her but said she had had threats to her life. View image in fullscreen MP Satvir Kaur: ‘Some want me dead.’ Photograph: Andrew Croft/Solent News & Photo Agency/Solent News “I want to be able to talk to my friends and neighbours without having someone there trying to protect me from people that want to cause me harm, cause my family harm,” Kaur said. But she felt she had no choice but to have security in the streets she grew up on. “Some want me dead,” she said. She described Digwa’s murder of Nowak with what the sentencing judge called a “Sikh sword” as “evil” and said it had shaken the community. “They don’t deserve to have their homes, cars and streets vandalised. It’s really horrible how scared people were last night.” Kaur said the majority of people who took part in the violence were not local. “Which is really sad,” she said. “And at a time when we really need to unite, we’ve got people that should be showing leadership instead sowing divisions and pitting one community against another. Henry’s father himself said he didn’t want his son’s murder to be used to further grow divisions and hatred. “Of course quest