Tension was mounting in the town yesterday, where shopkeepers were preparing to board up their stores. One local resident said: ‘They claim there is not a no-go area in this town. But if you put a foot in the wrong street, you could easily end up like young Gavin.’
Extra police were on standby this weekend amid fears of race riots after a white teenager died following an alleged attack by a group of Asians.
The reinforcements were drafted into the town of Oldham, Greater Manchester, scene of bitter race riots between gangs of white and Asian youths last summer. Police also fear that the National Front could march on the town following the incident.
The moves follow the death of Gavin Hopley, who was attacked after he mistakenly wandered into the town’s Glodwick area – a hotbed of racial tension in the town.
Gavin, 19, who worked for a local shopping centre security firm, was with two friends trying to find a taxi to take them home in the early hours of last Saturday when the attack happened.
They were suddenly surrounded by at least a dozen Asian youths, some armed with lumps of wood and heavy clubs. After a scuffle, Gavin was left unconscious in the road. His friends escaped, one of them leaping a garden fence before being rescued from his tormentors by Good Samaritan Mohammed Umar and his family.
Gavin was found by a passer-by and taken to the intensive care unit of North Manchester General Hospital. He was on the critical list for a week, but failed to regain consciousness. He died late on Friday night.
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