From The Mind Of Jake Mills (And the computer of whoever that guy was)

At approximately 11.30pm last night, 8th August 2011, I got in my car, camera in hand and the idea of taking a few snapshots of quiet areas in Liverpool, putting an end to all speculation and hysteria, which was largely fuelled by social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook. When I noticed a Facebook group had been created, encouraging 'riots', part of me knew that wasn't going to be the case and, sadly, that part of me was correct. 

I put a request out on Twitter, asking people to suggest places for me to go in order to confirm what was going on. With the majority of replies instructing me to go to Smithdown Road, that was my first destination. With the blistering sound of Pete Price's voice on the radio, screaming that nothing was going on I, for the first time ever, found myself agreeing with him, or at least wanting to. I was driving down Smithdown road with not a lot to report at all. I drove past Asda, situated on the corner, and there was still nothing. I felt relieved until my heart sank as the flashing of blue lights soon became visible. I got out of my car and began talking to the people gathering on the street who pointed out that a car had been set on fire at the top of Smithdown road. There was a very strange feeling in the air, almost excitement, families were gathering to watch, parents were bringing their young children to the front gate in their pyjamas, almost as if there wasn't any real danger, like they were watching some kind of street theatre.

The police prevented me getting any closer to the action so I decided to get back into my car and take a few detours. Before I knew it, I was pulling onto Smithdown road right in the heat of the action, between the two police blockages at either end of the road. There was a car of fire and several fires burning in the street. One girl actually guided me around a few of the fires and the people there all seemed to be enjoying this wreckage, all smiling and jumping around having fun. It was a strange feeling, I felt I was being enticed into something I wouldn't get out of, I soon turned around and got out of the way.

I decided to visit some of the other areas people were reporting trouble, so I went towards Toxteth and Myrtle Street. There was a massive police presence, although not riot police, so it was difficult to get to most places. At the top of Upper Parliament street stood a couple of 'gangs' but nothing really to report on. It seemed they were as much trouble as those who were out in their gardens with children, just wanting to know what was happening. After speaking to a few different police officers in different areas, I felt everything was under control and I considered going home. That was until the police helicopter made an appearance.

The mood quickly changed, I was stood at the top of Upper Parliament street when the helicopter started circling, a few more police vans turned up and the area quickly started attracting more attention. What started as a crowd of around 30 people very quickly became 200. We were almost penned in. I asked people why they were there, what they were 'rioting' about, the general answer seemed to not be an answer at all. "It’s just mad innit”, “Boss", "Funny", "I want some new gear", "Police are scumbags". These weren't rioters, these were thugs and hooligans, opportunists, there for the sake of being there, knowing they can cause a disturbance and more than likely get away with it.

Everything progressed from very quiet to the complete opposite within as little as 20 minutes. Soon missiles started being thrown at the police vans; Glass bottles, bricks, stones, wood and fireworks all seemed to be the weapons of choice. The mood changed from intuitive and excitement to pure aggression. As soon as that happened I had to escape before I got more involved than I would've wanted. As I started to run back to my car, there were a lot of people running past me, trying to join the action. To my disappointment, the majority of those I did see weren't children or teenagers, they were adults, adults who clearly had no education or morals, instead wanting to help their community and city destroy itself.

As I got to my car I heard a lot of shouting and screaming, loud bangs and the smashing of glass, cars all around started fleeing the scene and people peered out of their windows, visibly frightened. For the first time, I was genuinely scared. I rushed away from the scene and found myself on Falkner street, met by at least 10-20 cars in a row all smashed up. People were at the doors of their houses terrified, after having their house windows smashed by passersby throwing bricks. There was a growing hysteria but the police presence, in my opinion, was still huge, they seemed very calm and in control. Let's not forget, they are well trained for situations such as last night, and they were doing very little to inflame or entice the crowd. As I left, there was talk of the gangs heading to Liverpool One, to possibly loot, but I found it highly unlikely. People were just getting ideas thanks to London, they weren't rioters, they were thieves, thugs and opportunists looking for a excuse to smash things up, hoping to get a new TV. On the way home, I decided to drive towards other parts of town. Liverpool One was quiet as was London Road, I also visited Anfield, Norris Green and Croxteth and found nothing to report.

I got home and began to reflect on the night as I watched the news in disbelief. I felt an overwhelming feeling of disappointment. The whole country expected Liverpool to cause trouble and we complied. No matter how insignificant these disturbances may have been in comparison to London, it wouldn't matter. #LiverpoolRiots trended worldwide on Twitter, with #PrayForLiverpool also doing the rounds. The hysteria which social networking sites created is something which can only fuel false speculation, causing more panic and rumours which ultimately will lead to more chaos.

Today the clean up job begins. There will smashed windows and a couple of cars set on fire, possibly a bit more, but it is so important to note that what happened in Liverpool was nothing like what is happening in London. It was the scum of the city, getting together to cause trouble for the sake of it. Nothing else. Any other week and what happened last night wouldn't have been described as a riot.

Liverpool is a great city, the community has already come together to help clean up the aftermath of what happened and the police have to be applauded for the way they handled the situation. It is easy for people to complain that they didn't do this or didn't do that, but they kept the situation as under control as possible without provoking or inflaming it at all. 

This city will unite and not stand for this again. We are Liverpool, we don't follow the crowd, we walk together, we are proud of our city.