Ready, aim, fire!

I was going to photograph closed-down pubs, but a black plume of smoke blowing from Salford to the centre of Manchester changed my mind. The Manchester Evening News settled on a picture it found on Twitter, but what was interesting was the comments the story engendered. The recent riots that took place in British cities last week meant many people assumed the burning tyres signalled a new outbreak of social unrest. I was reminded of the days after 9/11 (blimey – tenth anniversary already) when anything was taken as the start of a new attack. Should you be still in witch-hunt mode, the children pictured here were not responsible for the fire – despite riding mountain bikes.