Middlesbrough Mayor Chris Cooke welcomed hundreds of volunteers who flocked to the town’s Cenotaph before 8am today to take part in a mass clean-up operation across the town centre.
Mayor Cooke said: “The dreadful scenes we witnessed on Sunday have no place in Middlesbrough, and do not represent the diverse and welcoming town we all know and love.
“Violence and hate speech will never prevail here, or break the wonderful community spirit that is the very embodiment of this place.
“We also all owe a huge debt of gratitude to Cleveland Police who displayed immense bravery in the face of such mindless thuggery, and they will have our full support in bringing those responsible to justice.
“To see so many people who care about Middlesbrough and their fellow residents coming together this morning to help in the clean-up operation has been truly humbling, and that should be the abiding image people have of our town.”
