Former Yorkshire cricketer Azeem Rafiq has told Sky News his family members in the Rotherham area have felt unable to go out and live normally amid the “frightening” violence.
He said: “We’re not so far away either, it’s really worrying times for all of us concerned.”
Rafiq added: “On the family groups, everyone’s checking in on each other, staying in communication and keeping each other safe.
“It’s petrifying going to sleep at night in your home and not feeling safe – it’s not something you should be thinking about but that’s the situation for most people right now.”
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Azeem Rafiq. File pic: PA
In Rotherham on Sunday, masked anti-immigration rioters broke into a hotel housing asylum seekers and threw chairs and long pieces of wood at police.
At least 10 officers were injured, including one who was left unconscious, in violent scenes as the prime minister vowed rioters would “regret” engaging in “far-right thuggery”.
Rafiq said his loved ones have avoided going out alone and are monitoring where the riots are “to keep out of harm’s way”.
He said: “Everyone’s encouraging each other to, if there is some necessity to go out for, then you are not on your own but if you can avoid it then do that.
“That’s the same for my family. We’re speaking, trying to monitor where these riots are, to try keep ourselves out of harm’s way.”
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Moment rioters smash through hotel door.
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The cricketer, who previously spoke out about racism in his sport, praised Home Secretary Yvette Cooper for offering emergency security to mosques – but called for protection to go further.
“I think that was important and the right step,” he said. “I know it has already made a difference.
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“We’re in constant communication with the mosque, taking instructions from there so I do think that was a good step forward.
“But as we’ve seen in Rotherham with the hotel, nothing seems to be able to rein this in […] It still feels like a ‘let’s see what happens next’ situation.
“Protecting the mosques, our places of worship, is a good start but there needs to be a bit more than that over the next few days and months.”