VIOLENCE has broken out in a North-East city after crowds were involved in a dispute with an alleged lesbian couple.

At least 60 people gathered in Salem Street, Hendon, Sunderland, at the height of the trouble.

The windows of the women's home have been smashed and it has been alleged that at one point a scythe and an air weapon were brandished in the street.

A team of police officers, including dog handlers, was called in on Monday when the violence first flared, and have mounted round-the-clock patrols since.

Four arrests were made on Wednesday and a further two arrests followed on Thursday night.

Sunderland police said Wednesday's arrests had been made to prevent a breach of the peace, and Thursday's were made for drunkenness.

No one has been charged in relation to the outbreak.

Neighbours said the women and their family, from Tyneside, had lived in Hendon for 18 months.