Riots erupt across Britain

More than 334 people have been arrested across London, along with several hundred more in other cities, as witnesses described seeing their neighbourhoods turned into “war zones”.

Rioters looted shops and set buildings on fire not only in London, where riots began on Saturday night over the death of Mark Duggan, but also in other cities including Liverpool, Bristol and Birmingham.

The Prime Minister David Cameron has been forced to cut his holiday short to return home to deal with the escalating violence. He is also attending a meeting of Cobra, the Government’s emergency committee.

Scotland Yard said that all police cells in London are now full and they are having to take prisoners to premises further out of London owned by surrounding forces.

The worst rioting in decades also saw three people arrested this morning in Brent on suspicion of the attempted murder of a police officer. Two police officers were taken to hospital following the incident.

‘People are furious’
“Local businesses and residents are waking up in south London to another night of violence,” writes Channel 4 News reporter Keme Nzerem.

“On Deptford High Street a bookkeeper has been attacked, a number of tills have been smashed open and were lying on the pavement. When we parked up in Peckham, we could smell the smoke from the clothes shop set alight last night and still smouldering now.

“A businessmn who owns the shop opposite said he’d been effectively trapped inside his property at the height of the fire, it was so hot. And a family trying to get in to their home next door were told it wasn’t yet safe to return. A safety team are trying to fix a gas leak. Until the location is secure, a 200-metre stretch of Rye Lane remains evacuated.

“People we spoke to were furious their city has been ransacked and there seems to be nothing they can do about it.”

Follow Keme Nzerem on Twitter for the latest updates: @nzerem

Violence spreads

In Liverpool, hundreds roamed the streets and set cars and wheelie bins on fire. Calm did not return until 3am. In Birmingham, around 100 people were arrested after trouble near the Bullring shopping centre. Bristol residents were urged to avoid the city centre after 150 rioters took to the streets. There were also disturbances in Nottingham.

In London, rioting broke out in new areas. More than 150 people in Clapham Junction were pushed back by armoured police vehicles. The police said the tactic would be used elsewhere to stop more destruction of shops, homes and businesses.

More than 1,700 extra police officers were deployed to deal with situation in London but seemingly failed to quell the riots, which also gripped parts of Hackney, Peckham, Camberwell, Newham, Lewisham, Bethnal Green and East Dulwich. There were huge blazes in Croydon and Enfield, as well as in other locations, as buildings, buses and cars were set on fire.

Channel 4 News maps the riots

Police Commander Christine Jones said events were “simply inexcusable”.

“Ordinary people had had their lives turned upside down by this mindless thuggery. The Met will ensure that those responsible will face the consequences of their actions and be arrested.”

As communities struggled to deal with the destruction, the hashtag #riotcleanup has dominated Twitter as people volunteer to help clean up the damage.

But the police are preparing themselves for further trouble. Scotland Yard said there will be 13,000 police officers on the streets of London in the next 24 hours. The extra security has failed to convince the Football Association, which has called off England’s friendly match against Holland at Wembley.