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Friday 01 June 2012

'Worst riots in living memory'

Friday 19 August 2011
Rioting across London and elsewhere in the UK on 8 August prompted the Metropolitan Police to call them the worst in living memory.
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Rioting across London and elsewhere in the UK on 8 August prompted the Metropolitan Police to call them the worst in living memory.
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Police officers in riot gear block a road near a burning car on a street in Hackney, east London. Hackney was the first area to experience disturbances on a day of rioting in London and in cities acro Cars burn in Hackney

As a car burns in the background, a man on Hackney's Clarence Road hurls a rock. By Monday night, the rioting had spread south to Battersea and Croydon, and west to Ealing. Rioter

People stand near a burning car in a street in Hackney. The capital has seen millions of pounds worth of damage to property since the unrest started in Tottenham on Saturday. Burning car

Looters at a convenience store in Hackney. Shops across the capital were targeted as youths ran rampage across areas of London's inner city. Looters

Looters run from a clothing store in Peckham. Missiles were hurled at police in London as violence broke out in the British capital for a third night in a row. Rampage

Riot policeman charge past burning buildings in Croydon. The south London suburb saw one of the worst fires since disturbances began at the weekend, when the Reeves furniture store was burned down. Croydon on fire

Firefighters tackle a fire in a burning building at Croydon. It subsequently emerged that a 26-year-old man shot in a car in the south London suburb had died. Burning building

A large fire breaks out in shops and residential properties in Croydon. The family-run Reeves furniture store, which was destroyed, had served the south London suburb for more than 140 years. Firefighting

A fire destroys a Sony warehouse in Enfield, north London. Sony said the fire had damaged compact discs, DVDs and other content products, but no injuries had occurred. Sony warehouse

Men look at a burnt-out car after disturbances in the Handsworth area of Birmingham. By Monday, the third day of rioting, unrest spread to other cities in the UK, including Liverpool and Bristol. Second City burn-out

A man cycles past burnt-out cars in the Toxteth area of Liverpool. Toxteth came to prominence in 1981 when it suffered widespread damage during rioting in July of that year. Toxteth revisited

A cyclist passes a van burned and set alight during riots in Hackney. By 9 August the prime minister, David Cameron, had cancelled all police leave in London and announced a recall of Parliament. Smouldering van

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