Two young men were said to have been mown down in the street last night after claims a gang of suspected robbers targeted homes in Ravensthorpe.
The suspects - in three cars - fled after they were confronted by an angry mob.
One of the cars, a Vauxhall Insignia estate, sped down the narrow residential street clipping parked cars before, it is claimed, deliberately being driven at the men.
Both needed hospital treatment for their injuries, the Examiner was told.
The drama happened in Charles Street around 8pm and came amid fears within the local Asian community that they were being targeted by robbers forcing their way into homes to steal gold.
It is said there have been several raids where robbers wait for elderly people or women to be alone before forcing their way in. Robberies have been reported on Asian homes in Savile Town and Batley.
Witnesses in Charles Street told the Examiner that residents became suspicious of three cars - the Insignia, an Audi and a Mercedes - seen on the quiet, terraced street.
One man told how the occupants of all three cars - whites and Asians - seemed to know each other.
They were apparently confronted by a group of residents and claimed to be coming to see someone and that they were from Bolton.
The cars left only to return later. The men were confronted again, and a car window was smashed.
As locals filled the street, the Insignia - driven by a white man - sped off.
A shocked witness said: “He was using his car as a ram. He was ramming people. Two young lads were run over. It was like something out of a movie. He could have killed somebody.”
It is believed the driver abandoned the car and ran off. It is thought he was tracked down to the nearby Ravensthorpe Shopping Park, where he holed up in a food outlet.
An angry mob later gathered furiously demanding police action over the alleged robberies.
Another man said: “We want people to know what is happening. Asian families have lots of gold and these robbers come round at 7pm when elderly people or women are home alone and smash their way in.
“It’s happened in Savile Town and Batley but we are not going to take it in Ravensthorpe.
“We are just normal people. We do our day job and come home. People are trying to rob us and we are not going to take it anymore.
“There were two Asians in the Audi, four or five white lads in the Merc and one in the Insignia.
“It’s like gang warfare. We are not in America with these wannabe gangsters.
“There’s a lot of anger here. If the local community had got hold of the lad from the Insignia he wouldn’t be alive.
“What are the police doing about it? These criminals are operating without fear.”
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Several police cars and vans descended on Ravensthorpe from all directions and the police helicopter circled above.
A large group of Asian people gathered on the retail park and a woman with a loud hailer appealed for calm as the police struggled to keep order.
Police closed off Charles Street at its junctions with Huddersfield Road and Bell Street. The abandoned Insignia was at the Bell Street end, headlights still blazing and its back window smashed with glass scattered on the road.
A police source said three men had been injured but it is understood officers believed the suspects were not linked to the previous robberies.
Crime in North Kirklees
Police are seeking information about an aggravated burglary in Ravens Crescent, Dewsbury, just before 7pm on Wednesday when masked raiders confronted a family in their home but left empty-handed.
The Examiner understands the police are being inundated with reports of suspicious activity from Asian communities, who are on heightened alert over the robbery threat.
