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RT Croydon fire london fire UK riots Croydon video London riots Hackney video 8 August Lewisham riots police shooting Hackney riots London clashes police London riot Mark Duggan tottenham police cops riot police molotov cocktail fire blaze burn torch London Riot 2011 August 2011 fighting back vigilantly groups heroes Millwall football soccer protest raids fighting war cars Tottenham Hale metropolitan crime burn burning court flame anarchy fighting back proud british heroes riots thugs Locals in Clapham Junction, Dalston and Whitechapel took to the streets and faced down the mob on Monday night after realising that police were too over-stretched to help. In south London, officers were nowhere to be seen as shopfronts were smashed in St John’s Road, Clapham Junction. But the gangs of youths were prevented from carrying on their rampage south into Northcote Road, site of restaurants – specialist food stores and boutiques – by locals who guarded the top of the street from a branch of Nando’s to the Northcote pub. A core of 20 people gathered at the junction, with up to 50 at some points, from just after 9pm until close to 11pm. John Comyn, who has lived in the area all his life, said: “Most people I spoke to were local and couldn’t believe what was happening. No one wanted to venture down St John’s Road but we weren’t going to let them ruin our street.