Rioting on Cyprus Police, with helmets, batons and shields, advance down Ledra street late at night to disperse the window-shattering rioters. Police used tear gas Tuesday night to disperse rioting demonstrators who smashed windows of the British council building at Nicosia, Cyprus, and tried to set fire to the Building. Hundreds of rioters later rushed through Ledra street, the town's principal street, breaking windows, smashing electric signs and wrenching police telephone boxes from the walls. August 4, 1955. (Photo by Paul Popper Ltd.).