A shaken Crouch Hill resident, who witnessed up to 80 youths smash and loot a local shop on Sunday, said she was frustrated by the police response to the incident.
The local woman who lives with her young family on Stapleton Road said: “Our car was broken into and the passenger door window smashed – the glass is still all over the road. We had to call the AA to tow the car away at 2am and pay for the repairs.”
Reports from residents indicate that the group, who are believed to have come from a house party, made their way to Budget Supermarket via Stapleton Hall Road and Florence Road between 10.30pm and 1am. There have been more accounts of damage to both cars and properties.
The resident said that the eight police units who arrived at the scene did not even get out of their cars: “Every time the police drove through the crowds, they were emboldened to become more violent.”
As well as causing damage to property, the youths injured a worker in the shop who was left with a badly cut hand after the group pelted stones and glass bottles at him through the open shop door.
Another source, who wished to remain unnamed, said: “We were really panicked – the fear of God went into us.”
A Met Police spokesperson said: “Police were called at around 22:30 hrs on Saturday, 13 October to reports of antisocial behaviour around Stapleton Hall Road, Haringey. Officers attended and found a group of around 50-100 young people throwing items, including fireworks, at vehicles and properties in the area.”
No arrests have yet been made.
