Gangs of Asian youths have pelted officers with stones in several hours of clashes in Burnley.
Officers were called to the Stoneyholme district of the Lancashire town last night after residents reported large groups of Asian youths gathering near Ale Street.
When they began speaking to the youths, the officers were pelted with stones and other missiles in sporadic attacks over a period of several hours.
A nearby pub, the Duke of York, had its windows smashed and police broke up a number of "minor altercations" between white and Asian youths. Private and police cars were attacked with stones but no injuries were reported. Calm was restored by 1 a.m.
A Lancashire Police spokesman said: "We would stress that these incidents were spontaneous and minor and we continue to receive help from all elements of the community."
The trouble follows on an attack on an Asian taxi driver by a gang of white men on Saturday. Police are treating the attack, which left the driver with a fractured cheekbone, as a racist incident.
PA