The mob chaos seen in Clapham has spread to other towns and cities after youths ran riot in London and Birmingham during Easter holiday ‘linkups’ which were supercharged by social media.
More than 100 teenagers descended on Clapham Common basketball courts on Saturday and Tuesday before swarming the high street where they looted shops, attacked police and fought one another.
Keir Starmer and Sadiq Khan are yet to comment on the mob gatherings, and Labour MP for Clapham and Brixton Hill Bell Ribeiro-Addy has also remained silent – but found time to tweet about International Transgender Day of Visibility.
After multiple shops were targeted on Saturday, including Marks and Spencer and Sainsbury’s, police advised establishments on Clapham High Street to close early yesterday as they braced for the second wave.
Families had to be barricaded inside or quickly ushered out of backdoors as bored children with nothing better to do during the half term decided to turn supermarkets into their playground.
Five teenage girls were arrested and police issued dispersal orders across the two days of chaos that spawned from a social media trend encouraging youngsters to ‘linkup’ en masse.
A similar gathering happened in Birmingham on Friday as school kids flocked to the city centre on the last day of term causing shops to shut.
Hooded youths were seen hurtling through the streets, fighting each other, swarming on shops and fast-food restaurants with videos posted on social media showing teens being arrested in the street.
TikTok videos and comments from people who attended suggest these ‘linkups’ are loosely pre-arranged via social media.
BIRMINGHAM: On Friday, youths gathered in Birmingham city centre where they ran through the streets, terrorised shops and brawled
CLAPHAM, LONDON: More than 100 teenagers descended on Clapham Common basketball courts on Saturday and Tuesday before swarming the high street where they looted shops, attacked police and fought one another
CLAPHAM, LONDON: Police vehicles could be seen desperately trying to move through the throng of youths who took to the streets in broad daylight on Tuesday afternoon
‘I was gonna go but none of my friends wanted to go,’ said one comment on a video about the ‘Clapham courts linkup’.
Another video showing two girls smiling and dancing at home, seems to be referencing yesterday’s second ‘linkup’ with a caption reading: ‘How we feel knowing it’s gonna be live at Clapham Courts on Tuesday.’
Elsewhere, West Midlands Police were forced to issue a 36 hour dispersal order in Solihull town centre yesterday due to ‘a number of incidents of anti-social behaviour’, including ‘reports of children and teenagers causing anti-social behaviour and criminal damage’.
The force said: ‘We realise the community have been impacted by the incidents which are simply not acceptable and we want to reassure residents we are taking action.
‘The people involved, which are groups of youths, are causing issues in the local community and we are determined to stop this happening.
‘Over the next 36 hours we’ve put in extra policing powers which will allow us to disperse anyone engaging in anti-social behaviour and causing a public nuisance. We have also increased the number of officers in the area.’
Inspector Mitch Darby, from Solihull Police, said: ‘We can’t tolerate this kind of behaviour which is having a real negative impact on the local community and this dispersal order gives us the powers to move people on who are causing a public nuisance.
‘We can assure the community we are taking action. You will see extra officers in the area over the coming days.’
With teenagers across the country on half-term, there are now fears the viral clips of these ‘linkups’ will inspire more to erupt in different cities and towns with the Met Police warning it is a real possibility.
On Tuesday, police vehicles could be seen desperately trying to move through the throng of boys and girls who took to the streets in broad daylight.
The force confirmed two teenage girls were arrested on suspicion of assaulting an emergency worker, and a dispersal order was put in place.
Marks and Spencer on the high street – which was looted by the flash mob over the weekend leading to three arrests – shut early amid fears of a further raid on its aisles.
And a security guard working for the supermarket told the Daily Mail he had to lock shoppers in for a short while, before gradually allowing them to be escorted out by officers.
Mohammed said: ‘Police warned us there would be chaos so we prepared for it because of what happened last Saturday.
‘There were loads of kids sprinting and shouting and police advised all the shops to close for one hour.’
He added the supermarket decided instead to just close for the day and not reopen, but some shoppers remained inside.
‘Police knew roughly the time today,’ he said. ‘They said it would start at around 4pm so they were here since midday. But the chaos happened at 7pm.
BIRMINGHAM: Footage posted on social media shows teenagers running through the city centre on the last day of term
BIRMINGHAM: TikTok videos mocked the lack of control the police had over the crowd of teenagers
‘We had to lock shoppers in, at 8.15pm we let them out one by one with police and and security holding the doors shut and escorting them out.
‘Shoppers were very scared. There was one lady with a pram and a baby. She was terrified but police escorted her to safety.’
Mohammed added that the teens targeted a branch of Boots which was not as well prepared for the chaos as other shops and was impacted ‘very badly’, according to witnesses.
Meanwhile, a local Waitrose also closed, sticking a ‘police advised’ closure notice onto its front door.
Further videos showed large groups of balaclava-clad youths gathering outside a McDonald’s restaurant in the area as marked and unmarked police cars raced to the scene.
Families were reportedly ‘barricaded’ inside a local Sainsbury’s as teenagers, many of whom dressed in all black, claimed control of the busy high street.
Both McDonald’s and Sainsbury’s were forced to shut before their scheduled time amid the mob disruption.
Employees at local shops said they were ‘scared’ as chaos reigned along the heaving road with cars coming to a standstill and commuters ducking for cover, or opting to film the scene using their smartphones.
Fires were spotted burning on the fields of Clapham Common as police swooped in to extinguish them, sending smoke billowing into the air.
Dozens of officers broke into the huge crowd of teens in a bid to disperse the mob, but most of the youngsters appeared to hold their ground, seemingly unbothered by the threat of arrest.
Officers arrived in four vehicles, including two vans, to separate a group gathering outside the Common’s basketball courts but many teens simply dashed past them while others shouted jibes at cops as they walked past.
Lime bikes lay scattered across the ground and a stench of cannabis hung in the air as youths gathered into intimidatingly large groups both on the street and in the park.
CLAPHAM, LONDON: Fires could be spotted burning on the fields of Clapham Common as police swooped in to put them out, sending smoke billowing into the air
CLAPHAM, LONDON: Clips circulating on social media saw crowds of children tearing through the neighbourhood in south London, terrorising locals and forcing shops to close
‘It felt like Notting Hill carnival,’ the security guard said. ‘I’ve only seen something similar happen during the carnival when I worked at the Notting Hill branch.’
An employee at Roosters Spot chicken shop said: ‘Police told us to shut our shop and after we reopened we were warned not to let any kids come in today.
‘We were scared because we heard groups of 10 to 15 of them were coming into shops, running about, picking up trays and smashing stuff at walls.’
By 10.30pm, the commotion had died down with police able to disperse a majority of the participants.
A spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police said: ‘Police are responding to an ongoing incident on Clapham High Street following reports of a large crowd of young people causing anti-social behaviour.
‘Officers are on the scene, and a dispersal order has been put in place, meaning anyone congregating must leave the area.
‘At this time two teenage girls have been arrested on suspicion of assaulting an emergency worker. They have been taken to custody.
‘Officers will remain in the area to offer support and respond to any concerns from local residents and businesses.’
During Saturday’s madness, police were forced to issue a dispersal order and two 16-year-old girls and one 15-year-old girl were arrested for shoplifting and assault during the chaotic gathering.
Footage posted on social media showed police officers watching on as an army of youngsters stormed through the supermarket.
Officers attempted to control the frenzied crowd as they shoved each other while running down the frozen food aisle before a brawl broke out that left one girl in tears.
Other videos showed them running through the high street squealing and shouting as confused onlookers stood frozen in fear.
They also ambushed other shops in the area, including a Sainsbury’s where a young girl was filmed hitting a police officer and another seen running out of the shop and away from officers.
Videos and comments from teenagers who attended suggest the meet-up was arranged on social media with many calling it ‘the Clapham courts linkup’ and others simply referring to it as ‘Clapham courts’ or ‘courts’.
Footage showed Saturday’s large gathering initially meeting up at Clapham Common netball and basketball courts before spilling out on to the streets as the atmosphere became increasingly chaotic.
Clips of the incident went viral on social media, with viewers branding the ordeal yet another example of Lawless London.
CLAPHAM, LONDON – A mob of teenagers took over a Marks and Spencer food hall in Clapham on Saturday
CLAPHAM, LONDON – The riot raged on into the evening with scores of teenagers facing off with police attempting to disperse participants
A Met Police spokesperson said of Saturday’s mob incident: ‘Tackling shoplifting and anti-social behaviour continues to be a priority for the Met, and we’re doing more to take action against offenders and support local businesses.
‘This proactive approach saw a 44 per cent increase in arrests last year, while shoplifting across London fell by four per cent.
‘At around 16:45hrs on Saturday, 28 March, police responded to reports of a group of around 100 young people causing anti-social behaviour and stealing from a number of businesses on Clapham High Street.
‘Officers imposed a dispersal order and made three arrests. Three girls, two aged 16 and one 15-year-old girl, were arrested for shoplifting and assault. They have since been bailed.’
