Rioting broke out in Britain's second city and across other urban areas last night as the civil unrest witnessed for three nights in London looked to have spread further north.
Shops were attacked and looted in Birmingham city centre and similar incidents were reported in Bristol and Liverpool.
Paul Tilsley, deputy leader of Birmingham City Council, called for calm and said the council would ensure the city was cleaned up as soon as possible.
He said: 'The city council will be making every effort possible from first light tomorrow to clear up any damage and bring normality back to the city as soon as possible. To this end we’d stress to retailers, workers and shoppers alike that the city remains very much open for business and would encourage them to come in as normal tomorrow.'
A statement issued this morning by Liverpool City Council leader Joe Anderson said: 'We deplore in the strongest terms the street violence and criminality which took place around the city centre and parts of South Liverpool last night.
'We want to reassure residents, businesses and visitors that the city is functioning as normal despite these incidents.
'Cleaning –up work has already started and the council, along with the police and other partners, are working hard to put all the areas affected back to normal as soon as possible.'
