Insider Media Limited

Bristol businesses have upped their security in the wake of violence in the city, Insider has been told. It comes as business leaders and councillors urged companies to take safety precautions but maintain a 'business as usual' approach.

Last night (9 August) there were minor disturbances in Bristol. And on Monday (8 August), a reported 150 people gathered to cause violence in several parts of the city, including Cabot Circus, Broadmead, Stokes Croft and St Werburghs.

At the Cabot Circus shopping centre violence erupted and the Thomas Sabo store was smashed and looted by yobs.

A spokesman for the shopping centre told Insider that it was upping security and closed the site at 8pm yesterday evening (9 August), as usual.

He said: "Cabot Circus is open for business as usual today and we are in close contact with the police to monitor the situation.

"As a precautionary measure, we have extra security in place for Cabot Circus and our security team is working very closely with the police on this matter."

Business leaders have also spoken out to encourage businesses to take precautions and protect themselves and their employees from violence.

James Durie, director of the Bristol Chamber of Commerce, told Insider: "We are advising businesses to work on the basis of 'business as usual', but to take precautions that seem sensible and to use their common sense, especially if they are located in central area."

Durie said he could not put a figure on the amount of damage caused by rioters but called on the authorities to act.

He said: "The violence has not been on the scale of anything we've seen in London, but it's something that's very serious and the chamber wants the authorities and the police to make quick and decisive action."

City councillors have also spoken out, urging businesses to clean up and reopen following the violence.

In a joint statement from Bristol City Council's party leaders - leader Barbara Janke, Councillor Peter Hammond, Councillor Peter Abraham and Councillor Tess Green, said: "We need to clean up, and reopen for business, allowing our shops and workplaces to carry on - all the more important with the wider worries about the economy."

The councillors also condemned the violence and pledged to do anything they could to prevent it from escalating further.

They said: "Thankfully, the level of disorder in Bristol has not been of the scale of London. Of course, we want to do everything we can to prevent reoccurrence and we look forward to perpetrators being brought to justice."