I live on the outskirts of Croydon, near a shopping park. Every store in the area has been burgled; Best Buy, Comet, PC World, Currys, TK Maxx, Argos and John Lewis. The goods of choice are high value items like TV's, digital cameras and of course Apple devices. Sports clothing also being stolen in bulk.
The local supermarket situated less than one mile from my home is ablaze. The sky is thick with choking, black smoke.
The rioters and burglars are racing each other up my road to various destinations to drop off their 'loot' and return to take even more.
Adults are off the streets but it seems like every teenager (and younger) in London is out tonight, looking to get what's 'owed' to them.
London, and especially the multi-racial areas, has a serious problem with gang crime. The worst criminality is well-organised, almost paramilitary in nature, committed by the gangs. Fires are being started in strategic positions to ward off police intervention and provide cover for the robberies.
Heartbreakingly, a family-run furniture business was set alight seemingly because it was in the wrong place (it provided cover for robberies in two streets). The building was erected in 1867 and survived the blitz. The family outlived numerous economic downturns. The building and the business is in ruins.
The drug gangs seem to be involved in a game of bragging rights with groups from other 'turfs'. The level of violence and destruction is increasing, not diminishing, in a seemingly sick game of who can lay the most waste.
Worryingly, the police presence has been withdrawn even though the violence is growing. People are being car-jacked so their vehicles can be set alight and used as roadblocks. Various gangs are now involved in open warfare and one man has already been shot in the head.
I lived through the Brixton and Tottenham riots of the 80's and work closely with disadvantaged communities in my job. I've seen hints of what these people are capable of but this is unprecedented. I'm just so devastated about what has happened. This will scar London and it's communities for decades.
