UK - London's Burning - Tottenham Riots, August 2011

[Paulette]

The comments have been closed at the Guardian. Hmmm...just as I was going to leave a scathing one for the lack of control the cops have over all the looting. One tends to lose sympathy. When Rome is burning you better bring more than a fire extinguisher.

Glad to hear the local citizens have taken to protecting their streets. The slideshow on the front page of the Guardian says it all - this entire affair is a free-for-all.

 

[wfgodot]

Sounds like the Turks laid a little of the old Ottoman Empire on those hoodies.

---

Lavender Hill area, Clapham, apparently seeing violence.

This is not your Ray Davies's "Lavender Hill." Unfortunately. Yet it sadly is.

 

[wfgodot]

11.26pm: Reliable reports of riots now in Camden, Notting Hill and Colliers Wood. (Guardian)

Good map there too of riot areas, London. http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/blog/2011/aug/08/london-riots-third-night-live

 

[For The Kids]

A friend of mine lives in Ealing..and on facebook a couple of hours ago now he said people were startinmg to congregate outside his house

In all honesty i think some of these people just want to fight for the sake of it. Birmingham has notorious areas and when i stayed at Leeds several times that wasnt much better

To be honest i think the cops should just tell them to stop or we will start shooting...its there choice then.

 

[wfgodot]

Updates on Notting Hill and Camden at Guardian Live, plus this exciting tale from Hackney:

11.54pm: Hackney – worrying account from the Guardian's Jason Rodrigues, who has just been accosted by youths on his way home:

I've just returned from Hackney riots and was ambushed just off Essex Road and had my bike snatched by a group of six masked teenagers waiting on Ecclesbourne Road who were shouting "take the bike, take the bike".

I was forced to swerve away from them but crashed to the ground. Just as one of the thieves grabbed my bike from under me a red van raced screeched around the corner and smashed into a parked car. Two young men then got out and the man in passenger seat then put his hand in his pocket and threatened to pull a on knife on the thieves, accusing them of stealing his bike earlier.

A violent scuffle broke out and the thieves gave up the stolen bikes. Everyone seemed to walk away from the incident, but criminal minded local youths seem to be taking advantage of the lack of police presence due to trouble elsewhere.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/blog/2011/aug/08/london-riots-third-night-live

 

[For The Kids]

I have Sky on atm and i dont get it. They showed this journalist and these pricks have ran down the street shop by shop just looting EVERYTHING..and theres even empty Immodium boxes in Boots...ok i dont agree with stealing the jewellery and designer clothes BUTTTT...to steal diarrhoea tablets is just beyond belief

 

[wfgodot]

A friend of mine lives in Ealing..and on facebook a couple of hours ago now he said people were startinmg to congregate outside his house

In all honesty i think some of these people just want to fight for the sake of it. Birmingham has notorious areas and when i stayed at Leeds several times that wasnt much better

To be honest i think the cops should just tell them to stop or we will start shooting...its there choice then.

Agree with all of it up to the shooting part. Why aren't they using water cannons, say, or at least rubber bullets? The Met seems massively disorganized and is sending its people out there seriously outmanned due I guess to cuts. But no killing to protect commercial property; only if lives are threatened implicitly would it be right to shoot - which would, of course, pour more fuel on the riotous fires, but there we are. Horrible situation. I'm at a loss.

 

[wfgodot]

I have Sky on atm and i dont get it. They showed this journalist and these pricks have ran down the street shop by shop just looting EVERYTHING..and theres even empty Immodium boxes in Boots...ok i dont agree with stealing the jewellery and designer clothes BUTTTT...to steal diarrhoea tablets is just beyond belief

Giggling here. I saw one twitpic of a looter with a big sack of value rice exiting at Tesco. Not much imagination there.

 

[badhorsie]

It sounds as if parts of London are utterly lawless, there just don't seem to be enough police, Air support being called in from Surrey and Suffolk

 

[badhorsie]

London doesn't have water cannons, I have heard mention of plastic bullets but as Wfgodot says, they probably won't use them to protect commercial property

 

[badhorsie]

Breaking news, hundreds looting shops in Woolwich

 

[For The Kids]

London doesn't have water cannons, I have heard mention of plastic bullets but as Wfgodot says, they probably won't use them to protect commercial property

Yea but they just had this woman...not sure where abouts i think Croydon and she said there trying to get in houses...she sounds terrified and not young at all

 

[badhorsie]

Yea but they just had this woman...not sure where abouts i think Croydon and she said there trying to get in houses...she sounds terrified and not young at all

I think that I saw some footage of that and some poor lady jumping from a burning building.

Scenes of devastation reported from Clapham Junction, hardly any police- about 20

 

[For The Kids]

I think that I saw some footage of that and some poor lady jumping from a burning building.

Scenes of devastation reported from Clapham Junction, hardly any police- about 20

I was just watching a report from Clapham too and Mark the reporter said when all the shops were being looted there wasnt a single cop there . Theres some now but not many..and a massive flatscreen from Currys on the raod side ;(

 

[badhorsie]

Breaking News- Clapham Junction residents told to evacuate, I am aghast...

 

[wfgodot]

London doesn't have water cannons, I have heard mention of plastic bullets but as Wfgodot says, they probably won't use them to protect commercial property

Why no water cannons I wonder? Just the ticket for flushing a street. True, the old images of firehoses used on civil rights demonstrators here in the '60s still makes me wince. But those were non-violent, and they were protests. I do recall when the UK used rubber bullets in the early '70s.

 

[For The Kids]

Breaking News- Clapham Junction residents told to evacuate, I am aghast...

Its all crazy The looting and fires are bad enough but..to do it so people have to move from there homes in the middle of the night...its unbelieveable

 

[badhorsie]

God bless London and blameless Londoners and all the emergency services, I am watching live footage of Croyden in flames, please let this stop - it is anarchy there, and it is spreading, North West London now, pockets of violence everywhere

 

[wfgodot]

Troubles too in Bethnal Green:

12.23am: Stephen Khan reports from Bethnal Green, where there was violence earlier:

I've just walked from Liverpool St to Roman Road - so along length of Bethnal Green Road (not smartest move of my life, but Beth Green tube stn was shut). All a bit of a mess. Shops smashed along Bethnal Green Road including a Cash Converters and an amusement arcade. Small groups of guys wandering around along length of the road. Other groups standing guard outside small shops such as off licences, grocers and newsagents. Far from scenes we're seeing in Croydon or Hackney, but tense. No police on ground there.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/blog/2011/aug/08/london-riots-third-night-live

 

[For The Kids]

Couldnt they impose some sort of emergency curfew and anyone milling around just arrest them for the night? At least it would clear the streets somewhat.