Images of vandals and looters who wreaked carnage in Birmingham on Monday night have been issued by police as officers issued a plea to the public to help track them down.

West Midlands Police chief constable Chris Sims said the quality of some of the footage meant the culprits would be quickly tracked down.

“The CCTV which has produced some very graphic images of the activity and we appeal for the public’s help in identifying those responsible and bringing them to justice,” he said.

“Arresting offenders and taking them off the streets is absolutely the way to go.

“We’ll make sure people don’t get away with it.”

Police said up to 800 people were involved at the height of Monday’s disorder.

A total of 133 arrests were made for various public order offences as officers worked extended 12-hour shifts.

Mr Sims dismissed suggestions the police had idly watched youths attack and ransack shops and that more officers should have been deployed.

“This was not passive policing,” he said.

“We were taking people off the street at a pretty quick rate.

“It was not an angry crowd that caused this, it was a greedy crowd and we are dealing with dishonesty and disorder.

“There is shock, anger and disgust about what happened and many of the people involved were astonishingly young.

“We appeal to the parents and local community to keep their children indoors and safe.

“The tragedy is that young people without any previous criminal record will now be criminalised.”

Council leader Mike Whitby said pictures flashed across the world of rampaging mobs will inflict huge damage on Birmingham’s reputation.

He said he was deeply concerned at the conduct of young thugs who “think they can steal at will” and admitted that any further riots would cause incalculable harm to Birmingham’s status as a major business and tourism centre.

After inspecting the damage caused by Monday night’s violence, which saw more than 20 shops trashed, and talking to community groups, he said he was impressed by the determination of traders to return to normality.

A trade union official and political activist who said he sympathised with rioting yobs has refused to condemn violence on the city’s streets.

Matt Raine gave a TV interview during Monday’s disturbances, saying he understood the frustration of young people who were having to contend with the impact of government spending cuts.

He said: “There is no education, no jobs and no youth services left. That’s why I very much have sympathy with young people today who are having their futures ripped apart.”

Mr Raine, Unison branch secretary at Birmingham University and convenor of the West Midlands Right to Work Campaign, said he neither approved nor disapproved of violence.

He is the fiancé of city Labour councillor Penny Holbrook, office manager to Erdington MP and shadow Local Government Secretary Jack Dromey.

He added: “Our advice to young people in Birmingham is not to vent their frustration in this way.

“But it’s not good enough to blame young people. We have to understand why they are doing it and the frustration they feel.”

Pressed to say whether he approved of looting, he added: “I won’t say I condone or condemn violence. We need to listen to the young people. Politicians are just condemning what happened without trying to find out the views of young people.”