Geordie actress Denise Welch says she's been left "horrified" by images she saw of the heated protests in Newcastle at the weekend.
Thirteen people have now been arrested, the majority in relation to public order offences, after the stand-off between Black Lives Matter protesters and a group labelling themselves 'Defenders of Newcastle', who had gathered on the steps of Grey's Monument.
Protests, which remained peaceful for some hours, later turned violent, with footage appearing to show bottles and smoke flares thrown.
As things escalated, officers locked down parts of the city centre, with a cordon of police at the top of Northumberland Street as well as on Blackett Street.
Denise, who last week said she felt Black Lives Matter protests were "more important than anything," reacted to the scenes on Monday's Loose Women, when she and her fellow panellists spoke about how coverage of the protests had affected them.
The 62-year-old said: "My brain is aching with challenging my perceptions on everything and so it should. This is a time of change and so it should be.
"One of the images from over the weekend that's stayed with me was seeing a group of thugs surrounding Grey's Monument in Newcastle - my hometown, it's in my bones and in my heart. It was horrifying.
"We should now try and focus on the changes that are hopefully going to come out of the Black Lives Matter movement."
