Courts could sit through night to deal with rioters as violence continues

Police Officers walk past a burnt out police vehicle as they are deployed on the streets of Hartlepool (Owen Humphreys/PA)

Courts could begin sitting through the night a minister has suggested, as thousands of specialist police officers stand ready to deal with the rioting which continues across the UK.

Disorder has now lasted for a week, with unrest witnessed across England and in parts of Northern Ireland.