Britons have told GB News they feel “less safe” in Clapham following violent chaos on the popular High Street earlier this week.
Speaking to National Reporter Will Godley, Londoners told the People’s Channel that they witnessed “unsettling” moments, leading them to demand a “stronger police presence” in the area.
On Tuesday evening, violent disorder erupted in the southwest London suburb with hordes of youths running riot through the streets.
Viral footage online showed businesses forced into locking down as masses of balaclava-clad youngsters descended on Clapham High Street and Clapham Common.
Six teenagers have so far been arrested in connection with the incident, which saw nearly 100 Met Police officers deployed to the area.
Reacting to Tuesday’s incident, one local told GB News that it could have been “shut down” had a stronger police presence been in place.
He said: “I think a stronger police presence will kind of shut that down. But I think it also needs to kind of go deeper into the system, where we’re kind of helping these troubled kids.
“We need to get better opportunities so that they don’t resort to this kind of stuff.”
Clapham locals have reacted to the ‘unsettling’ chaos earlier this week
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GB NEWS
Another man described the mass riot as “unsettling”, admitting he “doesn’t feel as safe” in Clapham as a result.
He admitted: “It was a bit unsettling, and you don’t feel as safe. But I still walk around, I still feel like it’s a good area to live in.
“I don’t see it as a major issue, but it’s definitely something to pay attention to.”
Offering her view of the Clapham chaos, a pensioner argued that many Britons “shoplift all the time”, suggesting the issue is nothing new for the area.
Mobs of youths rampaged around the capital on Tuesday evening – as two arrests were made
She said: “The majority of people who are shoplifting, I think they do it all the time.
“But to get away with it and the shops don’t… I mean the shops have security on their door and everything and probably in the shop, so you could say they’re not doing their job either.”
Calling on the Government to do more to tackle the country’s surging crime rates, Marks and Spencer Director Thinus Keeve declared that without them “seriously cracking down on crime and a Mayor that prioritises effective policing, we are powerless”.
Speaking to GB News this morning, Adam Hawksbee, Head of External Affairs at M&S, made clear that their store colleagues “deserve to go into work each day without fear of intimidation or abuse or harassment”.
Clapham residents told GB News that they ‘don’t feel as safe’ in the area
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GB NEWS
He told GB News: “What we’re calling on is for ministers and mayors across the country, responsible for police forces, to give police backing in terms of resources and tools.
“Just in the past week or so, we’ve had a security guard with ammonia thrown in their face. We’ve had a store manager head-butted, we’ve had an angle grinder used as a weapon in stores to threaten security guards, so it’s really bad.”
In a statement on the incident, Sir Sadiq Khan said: “The scenes we saw in Clapham earlier this week were truly unacceptable.
“Not only did they spread fear in their local community, but insulting and intimidating hard-working retail staff and police officers are serious offences. More arrests are likely to follow over the coming days.”