7 Aug 2011

Tottenham Burns

In London, UK, there were scenes of chaos in the early hours of Sunday morning as sustained looting spread from Tottenham to other nearby areas of Haringey. By midnight police managed to secure a 200-metre stretch of the Tottenham High Road, scene of some of the worst rioting on Saturday night. But as fire engines entered the street, and began putting out blazing cars and buildings, the rioters spread north and east through back-streets. To the north, at Tottenham Hale, Aldi supermarket was ransacked and set on fire. So too was a nearby carpet shop, causing a huge blaze.

tottenham riots

Looters turned up with cars and shopping trolleys to carry away stolen goods. Nearby, large groups of youths congregated in the surrounding streets with sticks, bottles and hammers. Some wore balaclava masks, preventing cars from accessing streets as buildings were broken into. Others used large rubbish bins to form burning barricades across the road. However some of most dramatic looting took place further west, in Wood Green, and continued into the early hours of the morning. Earlier on Saturday night two police cars, a bus and several shops had been attacked and set ablaze as violence and looting erupted following a protest demanding "justice" over a fatal police shooting..

Guardian.co.uk