Violent far-right, ant-immigration riots across the UK have negatively impacted footfall across UK High Streets.

The riots have seen a wave of looting, vandalism, and violence that has left many retail workers fearing for their safety.

In Hull, rioters broke into Lush, Specsavers, and Shoe Zone stores. A Sainsbury's on Manchester's Mosley Street was forced to close after its shelves were ransacked, while an Iceland store in Middlesbrough was looted.

According to data from MRI Software, regional cities outside of London saw the biggest impact, particularly in the North & Yorkshire and the West Midlands.

Footfall on UK High Streets declined by an average of 4.8 per cent week-on-week from Sunday 4 August until Wednesday 7 August compared to an average drop of 2.7 per cent across all UK retail destinations.

The decline reached its peak on Wednesday, with High Street footfall down by 7.5 per cent over the 24-hour period, likely exacerbated by scheduled rioting and protests.

Across North & Yorkshire and the West Midlands, these areas saw footfall decrease by 12.9 per cent and 10.6 per cent respectively when compared to the previous week, remaining significantly lower than that recorded during the same period of last year.

The riots, which began following the murder of three children in Southport on 29 July, have been fuelled by online misinformation regarding the ethnicity and immigration status of the attacker.

Earlier this week, the British Retail Consortium (BRC) said it would chair an emergency meeting with its members following far-right riots over the weekend.

The news was first reported by Retail Week, with Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the BRC, telling the outlet: "Many retail workers have been heading to work fearing their stores and their safety could be compromised by the looting and vandalism that has taken grip in various parts of the country. Some are already seeing the impact, as they spend their day cleaning up the damage caused by these selfish and criminal acts."

---