Six teenage girls arrested after Clapham carnage sparked by TikTok trend
Business owners in Clapham have slammed ‘hopeless’ police after two nights of chaos has left the usually bustling high street a ‘virtual ghost town’.
Young people were seen rushing shops and a restaurant on Clapham High Street. They also lit fires and set off fireworks on Clapham Common, but police said there were no examples of looting.
Similar scenes of disorder played out in Birmingham last Friday after schools emptied for the Easter holidays.
The Met Police today urged youngsters – and their parents – that anyone caught repeating the scenes will be dealt with ‘decisively’.
Six teenage girls, aged 13 to 17, have already been arrested.
They warned more arrests could follow as they went through ‘a significant volume’ of video evidence.
A spokesperson said: ‘Just because you have not been arrested, does not mean you will not be.
‘Ahead of the Bank Holiday weekend, the Met has also made clear that anyone involved in similar events or caught promoting them will be dealt with decisively.
‘We also expect social media companies to play their part by taking responsibility for content on their platforms that promotes or incites disorder.’
Women told Metro they would now be walking in the upmarket south London high street in groups.
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Police said a TikTok trend was behind the widespread disorder on Saturday and Tuesday.
Six teenage girls have been arrested, but the Metropolitan police vowed there would be more arrests in the coming days.
Still, locals said the Met should have acted more swiftly.
Yassin Khan, 18, who is a shopkeeper at Bargain Store on Clapham High Street, says the chaos impacted the business’s bottom line.
He said: ‘We had to close two hours earlier for the safety of our customers and ourselves. It’s really had an impact financially on us.
‘Last night they were running around outside the shop, just causing trouble for no reason at all. It was terrifying. Now Clapham is a ghost town.
‘The police weren’t fast enough to stop them. The issue the police have is that these kids just aren’t scared by the police. They just don’t have any respect for the uniform. It would have made such a difference if they just had police dogs to scare them.’
Shopkeeper George Khan, 65, said he was ‘terrified’ of the upcoming Easter Bank Holiday.
He said: ‘It’s going to be hell. Police are like social workers.
‘They treat them like naughty school children. They’re not, they’re hooligans.
‘I really think they blamed the parents. Where’s the police responsibility to keep us safe? It’s a disgrace.’
Nassyr, 42, works at Profix and says the disorder forced the shop to close.
He said: ‘They’re just kids but they have no respect for how other people are affected. We had to close early both Sunday and yesterday.
‘This is 100% the fault of social media. You see a lot of kids growing up and getting into bad habits from what they learn on there, that’s what caused last night. I hope we ban it for under 16s like they have done in Australia.’
Bar worker Max Penwick, 21, said the area was now deserted.
He said: ‘We were told tonight would be a lot quieter. It’s going to ruin the area.’
One teenager, who was at the scene, told Metro he and all his friends were inspired to go to Clapham Common after a notice was sent round on social media.
He said: ‘A flyer went round to meet at the basketball courts which is why I went. And word of mouth helped it to spread.
‘I think some people just wanted to chill somewhere because there’s not really many places to go.
‘But link-ups like this are 100% unacceptable – especially when they are setting things on fire.
‘A few people came for trouble and it spiralled out of control.’