The police worked to contain the rioters, rather than confronting them
Cars and wheelie bins were set alight during the disturbances
which spread from the city centre to Toxteth, Dingle and Wavertree.
The disorder started at about 22:00 BST and had calmed down by about 03:00 BST.
There were hundreds of youths on the rampage on the streets. Merseyside Police said they had arrested six people overnight.
Andy Ward, Merseyside Assistant Chief Constable, said the
violence was a "copycat issue", as London saw its third night of
rioting.
Two officers hurt
"It is a very saddening picture to be honest," he said.
"We had a situation last night where a number of young people
decided to gather and they have decided to go on a spree of disorder
and violence across parts of south Liverpool."
He said the youths had organised on social networking sites, which he conceded made the force's job more difficult.
Mr Ward said police officers were attacked with two suffering injuries to their legs.
The rioters started fires to try to stop the police behind them
The windows of Admiral Street police station were smashed in.
The force tried to contain the troublemakers rather than get involved in running battles.
As the night progressed, the group became more fragmented as
officers in riot gear and wielding batons, supported by police vans,
sealed roads off.
However, there were several stand-offs as rioters pelted officers with missiles, from golf clubs to bricks and bottles.
Smithdown Road, Upper Parliament Street, Lodge Lane, Lawrence Road, Princes Road and Princes Avenue were badly hit.
'Tesco store looted'
A works van was set alight in High Park Street and the windows smashed at Mount Carmel Social Club.
Rubbish and shattered glass litter the road.
Gangs of young people, with their faces covered, lined the streets in south Liverpool in a stand-off with police.
The rioters also scattered bins across the road, setting them alight, to try to stop police pursuing them.
The Tesco Express store in Myrtle Street was looted - with some of the raiders said by witnesses to be as young as 10 years old.
Homes do not appear to have been damaged and there were no reports of injuries.
Mr Ward said Merseyside Police had been prepared, but the force had not expected disorder on such a scale.
Residents referred to the violence as "madness" and "senseless".
One said: "This has been waiting to kick off for a while. They will be back on the streets tomorrow night."
Mr Ward said: "Tonight we will have a very robust response to events that take place."
Deputy leader of Liverpool City Council Paul Brant urged the
community to impose "a form of curfew in the sense that parents and
grandparents and family members should be making sure young people are
inside".
He also called on people to go to police if they knew who the perpetrators were.
People have been taking part in a spontaneous clean up in
Toxteth. It included Labour councillor Steve Munby, the city council's
cabinet member for neighbourhoods who represents Toxteth.
The clean-up operation has started to get under way
He said he believed the riots were led by a "small group of
organised criminals" from outside the Toxteth area. Their main aim was
to "loot and rob", he said.
Mr Munby said a huge amount of effort had been put into
improving relations between the police and the community since the riots
in 1981.
Sonia Bassey-Williams, 45, helped organise this year's 1981
Toxteth Riots - 30 Years On exhibition at Liverpool's International
Slavery Museum.
She said the violence was a reaction to the government cuts which were leaving more people in poverty.
"I think people just react out of frustration in this way," said she said.
But she agreed with other people who said a "criminal element" were using it as an excuse to cause mayhem and to loot.
She added: "I think the government needs to sit up and
listen. I just hope people start a dialogue pretty quickly to try and
bring some calm back to the community."
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