Far-right thugs set a ‘library of the future’, which also hosts a foodbank, ablaze last night, as they torched the streets of one of Britain’s most deprived communities. 

There is fury this morning after Spellow Lane Library Hub was just one of the casualties from riots across Liverpool that saw shameless yobs ransacking shops and setting wheelie bins alight.

Around 300 people descended onto County Road in Walton – a few miles away from the city centre – around 8pm, with officers later arresting 23. One officer was knocked off his motorbike while other demonstrators kicked riot shields. 

Spellow Lane Library Hub was opened last year to provide routes into education and work for those living in the community.

A ribbon was cut by the city’s Lord Mayor last year alongside a group of beaming primary school children as the library opened after the community and local Government £900,000 for its rebuilding.

Videos from last nights mayhem, however, showed flames pouring out of the building, rising into the sky. 

Police said rioters tried to prevent firefighters from accessing the fire, throwing a missile at the fire engine and breaking the rear window of the cab.

It comes as the country has been engulfed by a week of violent riots, sparked by the Southport stabbing frenzy at a Taylor Swift-themed dance party left three little girls dead on Monday. 

Tensions boiled over after misinformation about the identity of who was responsible boiled over, with mass mayhem breaking out in towns and cities across the country, with anti-immigration protesters taking to the streets.

Violence last night broke out in Hull, Stoke-on-Trent, Nottingham, Bristol, Manchester, Blackpool and Belfast – with many police forces pushed to breaking point.

Looters took advantage of the chaos, stealing phones, shoes and wine from the shelves of every-day stores, smashing their windows with bricks and stones. 

In Liverpool, shameless yob squealed ‘get the phones! Get the phones!’ as a group surrounded and battered their way into a phone repair and vape shop in the city centre.

Kicking the shutters with the feet and wrenching them up in a wild frenzy, the mob battered at the glass with what appeared to be a bollard before leaving the road outside strewn with packaging after they emptied the shelves.

Meanwhile, in Hull a Shoezone was pictured with smashed windows and a raging fire inside, while a Greggs and a Specsavers had also been targeted by men with face coverings throwing stones. 

Pictured outside the store as its fire alarm wailed, thugs wearing face coverings and black hoods could be seen trading white Crocs. Around them, sliders were strewn across the street.

An O2 store was also looted in the city, after a yob in an England shirt smashed the windows with a metal stool, before leaving with handfuls of gear. 

As he left, a young boy could be seen smashing one of the displays in a senseless act of destruction while one man yelled ‘this is England’.

And in Manchester a Sainsbury’s Local was forced to shut after it was ‘stormed’ by rioters, with eyewitnesses saying they saw the mob ‘grabbing items and throwing them’ from the city centre store.

Emergency services are now bracing themselves for more outbursts today with rallies planned in Rotherham, Rushmoor, Weymouth, Middlesborough and Lancaster this afternoon.  

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has pledged his ‘full support’ for police to take action against ‘extremists’ attempting to ‘sow hate’ by intimidating communities – as he held emergency talks with ministers over the unrest in parts of England.

And Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said people involved in the clashes ‘will pay the price’ and that ‘criminal violence and disorder has no place on Britain’s streets’. 

But forces across the country have reported injuries among their ranks – with sick yobs pictured chucking bricks and beating officers as they try to defend the nation’s streets.

One striking photo showed a shell-shocked officer staring into the camera as her colleagues tended to her, while further video saw a lone cop forced off his motorbike and beaten by a hoard of thugs in Liverpool.

Running clashes between the mob and officers in the Merseyside city left two officers in hospital with a suspected broken jaw and broken nose, while families visiting to see a Disney Princess cruise ship fled in terror from gangs of thugs.

A total of 23 people were arrested on Saturday, Merseyside Police said, including 12 arrests for the disorder in the city centre, nine arrests for the disorder on County Road and two arrests in connection with the disorder in Southport.

One officer was kicked and knocked off his motorcycle by a demonstrator and others tried to kick riot shields.

The community living around Spellow Lane Library Hub this morning were heartbroken to see the asset destroyed.

‘I cannot believe what I am seeing,’ one wrote. ‘Spellow library played a huge part in my upbringing. Then again when I needed help as an adult. What the f*** is going on?’

Another added: ‘Spellow Library in flames. An important community hub serving people that have little to begin with. This is pure thug behaviour.’

A third said: ‘Spellow Library on County Road in Liverpool has been set on fire by idiotic rioters. It had only just been reopened after a big refurbishment. This is not a wealthy community. Why destroy some of the few good things in it?’

‘The Spellow is a library which reopened last year and provides support for people of all abilities to gain education and a path to employment. It [is] truly awful. I fought for years for this hub and now [it’s] destroyed.’ 

Assistant Chief Constable Alex Goss called the behaviour of protesters ‘deplorable’, adding: ‘The impact of the disorder will be devastating for the people of Walton, but I promise that we are doing everything in our power to arrest those involved and bring them to justice.’

Merseyside Police also said a 58-year-old man has been charged with two offences following the violent disorder in Southport on Tuesday.

Derek Drummond of Pool Street, Southport, has been charged with violent disorder and assault on an emergency worker. He will appear at Wirral Magistrates Court on Monday, August 5, police said.

In Hull, Humberside Police said there were 20 people arrested, three police officers injured and shops looted and burned after a mob attacked a hotel housing asylum seekers.

Assistant Chief Constable Mike Walker said: ‘The right to lawful protest is a part of democracy, which my officers upheld, however, we will not accept the senseless vandalism, antisocial behaviour and sheer violence that has been brought to our streets.’

Businesses were targeted in Belfast where police mounted a significant security operation during a lengthy confrontation between anti-Islamic protesters and those taking part in an anti-racist rally at Belfast City Hall during which fireworks and other missiles were thrown.

In Bristol, police made 14 arrests because of violent disorder in the city centre, which Avon and Somerset Police described as ‘completely unacceptable’.

Lancashire Police said more than 20 people were arrested and dispersal orders were issued in parts of Blackpool, Preston and Blackburn.

And Staffordshire Police said 10 people were also arrested following disorder in Stoke-on-Trent.

Further protests are planned for Sunday and more trouble is likely in the coming days, police said.

‘We know people will try and do this again and policing has been and will continue to be ready,’ said Chief Constable BJ Harrington, who speaks on public order for the National Police Chiefs’ Council.

‘There are 130 extra units in place across the country, meaning almost 4,000 extra public order-trained officers to deploy.

‘So if you’re planning to cause trouble and disorder our message is very simple – we’ll be watching you.’