DEPUTY mayor Rafique Malik said Asians had told him they were angry and had little confidence in the police.

After Saturday's incident, Coun Malik tried to reason with groups of youngsters and said: "I told them that what they were doing was wrong and they should leave it to police.

"They were angry because innocent people had been attacked and property damaged and nothing had been done.

"They believed two people arrested after the Francis Street argument had already been released."

Coun Malik said it appeared police had not arrived for half an hour after the original complaint, by which time the damage had been done and triggered a sequence of violent events, including the stoning of police cars in Daneshouse late on Saturday.

"There is a real feeling of mistrust towards police," he added.

Coun Malik, last year's mayor of Burnley, said the original problem centred on a house in Francis Street, unoccupied during the week, but the scene of all-night parties at weekends.

An Asian neighbour had complained about noise in the early hours of Saturday and violence erupted.

Coun Malik added: "If the police had arrived quickly, I think it could have been stopped."