More than 500 people went on the rampage the northwest English town of Oldlham, near Manchester last night throwing petrol bombs and setting cars on fire, British police said today.
The trouble started when fighting broke out between white football fans and Asian youths, a spokeswoman for Greater Manchester police said.
Seventeen people have been arrested and a handgun was recovered during the violence.
"It is a very serious situation", the spokeswoman said.
"What we had early this evening were small groups of 30 or 40 fighting. From that we now have 500 people throwing petrol bombs, setting cars on fire and fighting".
Oldham has a large ethnic minority population and has been a hotbed of racial tension recently, with media reports that parts of the town have been turned into no-go areas for whites.
Riot police and officers from around Greater Manchester were drafted in to quell the fighting. The spokeswoman said some police officers had received minor injuries.
Oldham hit the headlines in Britain earlier this year when national newspapers printed pictures of the battered face of a 76-year-old white man who said he had been attacked by a gang of Asian youths.
A 15-year-old Asian boy was later charged with racially-motivated assault.
The situation in Oldham has become so tense that earlier this month British Home secretary Mr Jack Straw issued an order outlawing any political marches.
On May 5th, police made 16 arrests when the ultra-right wing National Front party went ahead with a march in defiance of the Home Office ban.