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

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. 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. …