A defiant Manchester today began the clean-up after the chaos - declaring that the rioters would not win.
Hundreds of members of the public gathered in Piccadilly Gardens with brushes and shovels this morning to help clear up after rampaging looters.
Street cleaning crews had earlier worked throughout the night in both Manchester in Salford.
- Live blog - Continuing coverage of the aftermath of the trouble in Manchester and Salford
- 1,000 police incidents, 150 fires, 12 hurt, 113 people arrested in night of violence in Manchester and Salford
Jeremy Myers, who helped organise the 'people's army' using on the Twitter social networking site, said: "We've had more than 300 people here today and it could be as many as 500.
"I'm a proud Mancunian and I wanted to see my city tidied up. I'm amazed by the response. I'm so proud to see Mancunians come out in numbers like this."
Co-organiser Jen Perry said: "I was so happy to see so many faces turning up to help their city clean up after the riots on Tuesday. The numbers of people who turned up were just amazing, I never imagined so many would turn up.
"I would like to say a big thank you to everyone who came. I am very proud to be a Mancunian."
Volunteer street sweeper James Newham, 28, from Levenshulme, said: "I really just wanted to give my support and show these people there's really more against them than for them."
Sophie Buckley, 17, from Mossley, said: "It wasn't a reflection on Manchester. It was a reflection on the people who thought they would get away with it.
"People said it was mainly youths. We're youths and we're putting it right."
Dozens of shops in Manchester city centre were sporting smashed windows and empty or trashed aisles this morning.
Oasis star Liam Gallagher's luxury clothing shop Pretty Green was completely cleaned out, while Dawsons music shop on Portland Street was had rows of empty shelves.
Commuters stopped to take photographs of the burned frontage of the Miss Selfridge store in Market Street.
But the vast majority of businesses were open today in a show of defiance against the yobs.
In Salford, the clean up began just hours after the riots had been quelled.
Major retailers – including Tesco, Boots and Subway - were unaffected and were able to open as normal.
Customers did not stay away from Salford's biggest shopping centres and one woman, who did not wish to be named, said: "They will not stop me shopping in my own city.
"What they did was just pure evil and they should be ashamed and so should their parents.
"There were kids as young as seven or eight down here, throwing bricks and looting."
A fleet of council trucks and vans and an army of workers were on the scene from the early hours to clear the roads and pavements of broken glass, rubbish and smoldering remains.
Senior councillor John Warmisham said: "This will not break the amazing community spirit that this area has."
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Thousands of kids looting our city centre while the Police seem unable or unwilling to intervene in any meaningful way - Then hundreds of decent citizens spend their morning clearing their mess up. Just about sums up modern British society. I was so ashamed to email my friend from abroad back today when he emailed to ask if we were safe.
Well done Manchester, you can show those morons that Manchester has a proud history and a brighter future, no matter how much the idiots try to shame our beautiful city!
Thousands of kids looting our city centre while the Police seem unable or unwilling to intervene in any meaningful way - Then hundreds of decent citizens spend their morning clearing their mess up. Just about sums up modern British society. I was so ashamed to email my friend from abroad back today when he emailed to ask if we were safe.
Thousands of kids looting our city centre while the Police seem unable or unwilling to intervene in any meaningful way - Then hundreds of decent citizens spend their morning clearing their mess up. Just about sums up modern British society. I was so ashamed to email my friend from abroad back today when he emailed to ask if we were safe.
Thousands of kids looting our city centre while the Police seem unable or unwilling to intervene in any meaningful way - Then hundreds of decent citizens spend their morning clearing their mess up. Just about sums up modern British society. I was so ashamed to email my friend from abroad back today when he emailed to ask if we were safe.
Says it all about today's society: some people smash and burn, others tidy up the mess. Some people go to work, others cheat the benefits system. Some people teach their kids rules, others let their kids run riot.
What is happening to Britain? Blame liberalism, failing to smack children, equality and allthe pap of the bloody 1960s hippy approach.
I think you've made your point Paul, once was enough!
I dont automatically blame the police, the police are pretty powerless, it is the government who are to blame.
Where are the deterants for such behaviour, the politicians pussy foot around these yobs.
1. Bring in a curfew for all under 18's -
2. If caught looting, stop their social benefits for 5 years
3. Get the water cannons on them
4. Order a shoot to kill on looters- it works in the states, and before you all go on about us ending up trigger happy like the states if we go down that road....take a look around we are already there!!!
ZERO TOLERANCE -
Ferral rats need putting down!!! and so do their parents!!! 3rd generation iliterate social scrounging scumbags,
Well done, you are the pride of Manchester! Unlike those scum pathetic excuses for humans who last night made me fill sick
Alright, we get your point!!!
Thank you, you wonderful fellow Mancunian people cleaning up the mess of these mindless, clueless disrespectful idiots!!Sorry I can't be there myself, I would be if I wasn't in work, as I'm sure many others would be too. We are all proud of you and support you!! and you are representing the majority of decent manchester citizens and we will not stand for any more of this. Please can the media now get on board to get as many of these positive images out there!! Give these decent people the fame and air time not the scum bags who tried to destroy our beautiful city last night.
Lets applaud our emergency service crews too who have restrictions than many of us would find extremely hard if not impossible to work within in.....I wouldn't like to think how restrained I could be face to face with a little spineless masked thief!!!
Emma
When you become obbsessed with cctv, to the extent that the whole of the city centre
seems to be covered with these cameras,it leads to lazy policing.
So instead of the police getting in there smashing a few bones with their truncheons and arresting these criminals, they stand back and let the looting take place with the hope that these people might be identfied at a later date by the cctv images.
get these cameras down and lets have some proper policing from a police force not a police service
My daughter joined the cleanup and she's never been smacked. I think a lot of these kids are used to brutal treatment - that's why they behave this way.
If i could get a babysitter i'd be there helping right now.Well done everyone who's taking part in the clean up.I don't think anyone is stupid enough to blame kids in general,we all know it's bad apples in a bunch and we're also aware that there were plenty of 'old enough to know betters' in that crowd too.
Whilst the clean up brigade might be bringing their brushes to clean up the aftermath of the riots, shame a lot of them weren't so careful with their lunch and plastic cup containers they left behind in Piccadilly and the Northern Quarter. Clean your own mess up please.
Anybody seen the clip of GMP lads battering a gang of looters. Look on the Daily Mail site. Well done GMP for showing the way.
cdog (10/08/2011 at 12:45)
did you email him four times by any chance?
PMPL haha
Well done all you lovely people - the true spirit of Manchester - these scumbags will not tarnish its image
when will these liberal elite go gooders stop runing my city? Haven't they learned anything!!
Liberal politics social agendas brussel sprouts