Toxteth District

[Waterways]

"In 1981 the trigger for the riots was the arrest of local youth Leroy Cooper on police assault charges. He was arrested by police who had followed a teenage motorcyclist into

Granby Street - then Toxteth's "main street" - and a hostile crowd gathered to separate him from the police.

Granby St was never and is not the "mains street" of Toxteth. That is Park Road quite a way from Granby Street.

The next day - July 4 - there was a heavy police presence in the area because of a tip-off that violence would erupt.

At 5.30pm, a group of youths in Upper Parliament Street started to stone police officers. It was the curtain raiser for a night of violence and fear, and a further nine days of unrest.

Riots had already erupted in Brixton. The Toxteth riots initially were seen as copy cat as many riots simultaneously erupted all over the UK: Manchester, Birmingham and even High Wycombe.

The ferocity in Liverpool was so severe it shocked the government and they realised it was not just summer madness. It shocked them so much they appointed a minister for Merseyside - Hesseltine.

The Toxteth riots were only partially in Toxteth with much of them in neighbouring Granby.

[Waterways]

My parents lived around there at the time of them.

You could go through certain roots as the streets like Lodge Lane were blocked off and loads of looting. Dad said people were offering free tv's though but he never took one!

Old buildings that were no longer there either were burned down!

I don't know, it's possible it could happen again. Wasn't part of the riots started because of Racism though and not just high prices?

Toxteth has had some regeneration but it's still crap around there. Especially as Dingles next to it.

The district the riots were in is Granby. Penny Lane is actually in Toxteth too.

The riots were initially thought a race riot but only one third of the rioters were black or coloured. It was an anti-police/poverty riot. The police stopped it by shooting one of the rioters. They used CS gas shot gun cartridges and aimed them directly at the rioters. These cartridges were meant for siege situations, to fire into rooms where they would hit the wall and release the CS gas. The police “acted stupid” and used these cartridges to shoot the rioters. The cartridge boxes clearly stated “do not use in a riot situation”. They said they didn’t know – as if. They blasted out the chest of one kid. They ran over and killed one crippled kid who had nothing to do with the riots. He was too slow to get away.

Nice police force we have.

[FKoE]

Increase in poverty could reignite riots

Could Toxteth riots be repeated in 2006?

Waht do you think about headlines like this, justified?

Yes, in one word. and what do YOU think about the complete invisibilty of the North end in 2007/2008

[FKoE]

The district the riots were in is Granby. Penny Lane is actually in Toxteth too.

The riots were initially thought a race riot but only one third of the rioters were black or coloured. It was an anti-police/poverty riot. The police stopped it by shooting one of the rioters. They used CS gas shot gun cartridges and aimed them directly at the rioters. These cartridges were meant for siege situations, to fire into rooms where they would hit the wall and release the CS gas. The police “acted stupid” and used these cartridges to shoot the rioters. The cartridge boxes cleared stated “do not use in a riot situation”. They said they didn’t know – as if. They blasted out the chest of one kid. They ran over and killed one crippled kid who had nothing to do with the riots. He was too slow to get away.

Nice police force we have.

Don't tell us you knew, or are related to a few 'eads too.. I have my suss radar focused on you lar

[Kev]

The district the riots were in is Granby. Penny Lane is actually in Toxteth too.

Penny lane is Wavertree surely?

[Max]

Penny Lane is Mossley Hill L18.

[Waterways]

Penny lane is Wavertree surely?

No. It forms the border.

[Max]

Thats Toxteth.nets map and they don't even have Penny Listed.

Penny Lane is only inbetween Smithdown and Greenbank Road.

L18 is Mossley Hill, Toxteh is L8.

[Howie]

A locally-produced satirical postcard of the period

[Max]

A locally-produced satirical postcard of the period

I want that post card.

I wish I was born around then and old enough so a looter would of gave me a free Tv.

[Howie]

25 years on and £400m spent - and Toxteth is still blighted by poverty
Jul 4 2006
By Nick Coligan, Liverpool Echo



MORE than £400m has been spent trying to transform Toxteth since the riots 25 years ago with another £130m earmarked for the near future.

But residents still question whether after a quarter of a century anything more than a cosmetic difference has been made to the area.

More...

[Waterways]

Thats Toxteth.nets map and they don't even have Penny Listed.

Penny Lane is only inbetween Smithdown and Greenbank Road.

L18 is Mossley Hill, Toxteh is L8.

L8? Is it? L8, L17, L15 and L18 all make up Toxteth. Toxteth.net give the actual boundaries of Toxteth. Penny Lane forms the border at the top and half way down is full inside Toxteth both sides.

Dingle is in Toxteth, so is Granby, St. Micheals, Sefton Park, Princes, & Greenbank Parks, and parts of Otterspool.

[Waterways]

I want that post card.

I wish I was born around then and old enough so a looter would of gave me a free Tv.

I watched the riots. At the top of Parli there was a milk place and a car hire next to each other. They used the milk bottles and the petrol from the car hire garage to make petrol bombs and reined then down on the police who formed a line across Parli. They gradually pushed the police back down Parli bit by bit. The were outwitting the police They used the hire cars to run at the police lines by putting bricks on the accelerators and jumping out the cars way before hand. The police scattered like flies each time a driverless car screeched down at them.

They also used a JCB to attack the police too. They use it as a tank with the petrol bombers behind who would emerge and reign down the bombs on the police. Then the JCB would pull back for another run. They used the JCB to knock down parts of the buildings and then ran it at the police vehicles with jib swinging. Very effective indeed.

The police would bang their riot shield to make a noise to frighten the rioters (or army by now). They responded by banging on the ground or bits of metal together to frighten the police.

The occasional hand to hand fighting meant a policeman was beaten badly – I never saw it the other way around. The police wisely would not venture out of their lines. These kids were fearless and had it in for the cops. The police could not push the rioters back with vehicles as the road was littered with wrecks and buildings burning either side.

On one of the last nights, bit by bit they pushed the police back down Parli until they reached Catharine Street. If they pushed the police down Catherine Street they were then in the city centre. Then the guns were used against them.

Only Liverpool police were at the front line with the reserves from other forces behind them in case they were broken. Police from other forces were mainly patrolling the areas the Liverpool police could not cover.

The never burnt the Post Office or unemployment office on Parli/Princes Road. They had to cash their Giros.

More damage was done in those nights to Liverpool 8 than what Hitler did in 6 years

I must admit I was delighted to see the *******s take a hammering.

[Howie]

Twenty-five years on - Toxteth riots remembered
Jul 5 2006
Daily Post



Mike Chapple hears personal accounts from two photographers whose images of the Toxteth riots went round the world 25 years ago.

More...

[Howie]

I hope Toxteth people can see us as friends
Jul 5 2006
Daily Post



Merseyside's Chief Constable Bernard Hogan-Howe took to the streets of Toxteth last night, 25 years on from the riots. Alan Weston and Mike Chapple report.

More...