On Sunday, April 16, the Birmingham police faced a violent attack by illegal stall owners of a street market in the Coventry Road neighbourhood. The incident occurred as the police were following up on complaints by local residents who had complained that Ramzan, the holiest month in the Islamic calendar, had turned their neighbourhood into “30 days of hell”.
The police arrived at the illegal street market to enforce the law and disperse the vendors who were operating without proper permits. However, they were met with hostility from a large crowd of street vendors. Within an hour and a half of their arrival, the police were encircled by a mob, and the situation quickly escalated.
The crowd reportedly shouted, “Get out of here” and “We don’t want you,” while making pig-like noises at the enforcement officials. The tension escalated as the crowd grew increasingly aggressive, and some members of the crowd kicked police cars as they tried to leave the scene. The police were forced to retreat and leave the spot due to the overwhelming hostility and threats posed by the crowd.
Sergeant James Newton, Supervisor for Small Heath and Highgate was quoted by The Birmingham Mail as saying, “The goal is to enforce rules regarding unlawful pop-up trading tents, nuisance, anti-social conduct. The local population’s displeasure with unlawful dealing, which generates substantial foot traffic in the vicinity and directly affects the local community, has increased significantly, as evidenced by our observations.”
Bottles were reportedly thrown at police in Small Heath, as police tried to crack down on illegal street market stalls during Ramzan, It was reported that one cop was injured during the attack.
During the month of Ramzan, many have complained about the disorder, chaos, and excessive noise in the area before the crackdown.