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| Smashed: An internal view of damage to shop on London Road in Croydon |
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| The Sony Distribution Centre in Enfield that was looted and set alight by rioters on Monday evening |
‘I haven’t got a day job, so I thought I’d come down and help. An army of 500 volunteers with brooms and bin bags is a pretty powerful message.
‘People are out on the streets, reclaiming them. That’s real community spirit.’
Healthcare assistant Auriol Harford, 24, said: ‘In a year’s time, we are going to host the Olympics, but we can’t even control a few teenagers who want to steal some trainers.
‘A crowd of 200 people caused this damage, but there are now 500 here to clean it up. That sends out a strong message. There are more of us than them, and we are not going to let them claim our streets and neighbourhoods. I guess it’s a Blitz spirit.’
Her 22-year-old sister Elizabeth, a student, said: ‘I was absolutely furious that people could attack our community in such a thoughtless way.
‘So many people rallying here illustrates that we will not silently condone this thuggish behaviour.’
The community spirit was replicated across the capital as volunteers went to each high street affected by Monday’s violence and helped in the clean-up.
Many were co-ordinated by artist Dan Thompson, who started @riotcleanup on Twitter, and had 75,000 followers by yesterday afternoon.
Another group on Twitter called itself #riotwombles, a reference to the furry creations who cleaned up Wimbledon Common.
In Walworth, south-east London, more than 50 volunteers gathered to help businesses in the clear-up.
Among those badly hit by looters was TD Sports, a small independent sports supplier which suffered £50,000 worth of losses on Monday night.
Owner Dave Cox, 50, said: ‘I felt numb when I saw the damage, I just wanted to cry. I’m far from a wealthy person, and without this shop, I will lose my livelihood, my house, everything.’
But at 10.15am yesterday, something unexpected happened. As Mr Cox surveyed the carnage, a group of volunteers arrived and offered to help him clear it up.
In less than 30 minutes the smashed glass was swept away and the shop restored to a semblance of normality.
Then with cheery waves, the helpers were gone to help the next stricken business. ‘It was fantastic, I was very emotional actually,’ said Mr Cox. ‘It proves there are still some good people around.’
One of the volunteers was Father Andrew Moughtin-Mumby, rector of nearby St Peter’s Church, who witnessed the looting.
‘What was really shocking was that it was like a carnival atmosphere, it was surreal,’ he said.
‘This clean-up was completely spontaneous. This gives London some hope.
‘It also shows there’s still a real sense of community, the people are reclaiming the streets.’ In Liverpool, which also saw rioting on Monday, 21-year-old bartender Charles Jupiter set up a ‘Liverpool Clean Up’ Facebook page that brought about 100 volunteers onto the streets yesterday morning.
He said: ‘I thought: “Not in my city”.
‘People were posting “I’m embarrassed to be English, I’m embarrassed to be from London or Liverpool.”
‘I reposted and said: “I’m not. That’s why I’m going out there to help clean up
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| Burnt out cars are removed from a residential street in Hackney this afternoon as the clean-up begins |
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| A burnt out smart car is seen on Ealing High Street |
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| A man sweeps glass from outside an organic food shop on Ealing High Street |
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| Counting the cost: A woman speaks on the phone in Big Jim's Trims, a shop looted in Ealing |
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| Aftermath: A fire fighter douses a burnt out building in Croydon, Surrey, following a third night of civil unrest on the streets of London |
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| Wreck: A fireman walks past the burnt out shell of 140-year-old Reeves Furniture store in Croydon this morning |
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| riotwombles: Volunteers wait to clear up after overnight disturbances in Clapham Junction, in south London |
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| London hates looters': More volunteers in Clapham Junction, where they have congregated after call outs on Twitte |
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| Helping hands: Part of a group of about 300 volunteers help clear the remains of destroyed vehicles in Hackney, north London |
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| Ready: Volunteers spilled on to the streets of Clapham with brooms eager to get the clean-up under way after the devastation in their community |
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| RiotWombles' sweeping to victory on the Walworth Road in Camberwell |
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| Ready: Volunteers spilled on to the streets of Clapham with brooms eager to get the clean-up under way after the devastation in their community |
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| Residents of Hackney club together to clean the streets outside their homes |
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| Clean sweep: Brooms at the ready, people brought together through Twitter gather to clear up Clapham Junction, devastated in the riots last night |
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| Armed and ready: Local residents with brooms and bin liners volunteered to clean up following rioting in Battersea |
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| Clapham clean-up: Volunteers don rubber gloves to sweep the streets and pick up broken glass following the riots in the London suburb |
