KIcking off in Lewisham

[surreyman]

I wonder if there be open later to day

realy wanted to get some shopping done so i dont have to go out for a while and hide in doors

[mrtimelover]

whats the latest? has it all gone quiet??

I don't think much local has happened yet, but I have heard that the Isle of Dogs and Sidcup have be hit. I assume a lot of people are sleeping now, so there will be a drop on comments on this thread.

Can I just check Bell Green Sainsburys has been looted ! ? ! ?

According to many of my friends and a few members of my family. I heard there has also been talk of it on twitter. All I know for sure is that there were a lot of police there to counter a potential attack, but It may have not been successful.

[Fizzle fam]

I drove through catford and lower Sydenham around 11 and there were groups of kids heading towards Sydenham. One of the kids looked as young as 8. Whether they made it here or not, I'm not sure.

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[westwood girl]

just want to say thanks to everyone on here keeping us updated. just glad im not the only one up and worried

[SilverdaleResident]

Was just going to pop onto the high street from my flat on Silverdale and there was a gathering of about 7ish youngsters outside my building looking fairly intimidating so I didn't go out...

[hazy]

there are always kids on the streets - don't panic - there may (or may not) have been some low level kid disruption in sydenham but i can assure you all that savacenter is not burning. despite twitter's insistence that it is. it isn't.

[mrtimelover]

Londons Biggest Conversation (LBC) 97.3 - http://ukrp.musicradio.com/lbc973/live

Or if you want to see articles and pictures go to - http://www.lbc.co.uk/

This has all the latest information of a lot of areas that are fairly near by.

Croydon is a total mess at the moment, theres some huge fires there.

[SilverdaleResident]

there are always kids on the streets - don't panic - there may (or may not) have been some low level kid disruption in sydenham but i can assure you all that savacenter is not burning. despite twitter's insistence that it is. it isn't.

At 1.30am? Where are their parents?!

[hazy]

not a clue. am i responsible for some kids parents all of a sudden?

[Fizzle fam]

Well I guess when you want to go down the whether spoons with your mates but you can't afford a baby sitter this is the cheaper option! Dole money can only stretch to a few bottles of wine and a box of fags..... Luxuries like baby sitters have to be sacrificed!

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[mrtimelover]

not a clue. am i responsible for some kids parents all of a sudden?

I'm sure it was a rhetorical question.

[hazy]

i sense disappointment that nothing has happened - which i find disappointing

[bensonby]

What do you mean "noothing has happened"? The borough is an utter mess. Apparently it's not as bad here as it is elsewhere. But in Lewisham cars are alight in Deptford and catford. Shops all over are looted including several in Sydenham. At least one house is on fire.

It seems to be coordinated and the police are under resources and chasing shadows. They can handle a set-piece riot but smallish groups are just popping up everywhere, hitting a place hard, and disappearing. There seem to e dozens and dozens of these groups. It's not like the police aren't trying: every cell in Lewisham police station is occupied, and I've heard the story is the same across london. It's just that it seems that the lawbreaking is so widespread we are just struggling to cope.

20% cut in the police budget anyone?

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[leaf]

Its a mess and its terrifying.

The police are doing what they can but as Bensonby says its so widespread how can they keep on top of it?


God knows what its going to look like in the morning.

riot clean ups being organised via Twitter.

[hazy]

apologies bensonby i did not mean "nothing has happened" - i think this is a v difficult night for most of us - as far as i am aware sydenham seems to have been largely unaffected. seems to me that there is a whole lot of vicarious thrills. twitter world. i'm worried about loss of life in areas that seem to be harder hit. that's all. sorry if it came across i was underestimating this

[goonerchamp]

was woken up by a neighbour screaming about 30 minutes - car fire in the alley way behind the shops on sydenham road - directly out the back of mustis pound shop - fire brigade in attendance - fire out - car gutted large damage to fences of houses on Earlsthorpe road - neighbour heard saying she saw a young mang running from the scene ! - nice morning wake up call hey !?

[Search East]

Woken at 5 by shouts, bins behind shops on the corner of highclere and champion rd set alight, fire brigade arrived quickly and put it out. Just heard that the community centre on home park was also set alight, most likely by the same scumbags!

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[Etoile]

Re fire in the mews, We were woken by someone shouting 'fire' and were FAR too close for comfort. Had to grab the kids and run to relations up the road. Really scarred now cos if hard action isn't taken today, it will just go on and on. If the fire brigade had been 10mins later this morning, a house would have gone up.

[biffa]

hopefully will be all quiet but due to the volume of calls the brigade are getting just follow good old fashioned advice - shut doors , maybe move combustibles away from downstairs windows , mini fire extinguisher to hand if you have one , mobile by bed side and decent torch - if you do suspect a fire get out straight away - regards Jim ( firefighter )

[paultreacy]

I've been in quite a few riots over the years on the news beat and they are utterly terrifying. There's a collective mob intelligence that takes effect and can cause normally well behaved people to act irrationally as they are enveloped by the group dynamic. I guess the serotonin levels go through the roof causing something like the phenomenon that causes crickets to morph into locusts. Humans are as susceptible as any other creature and some in the know manipulate their peers accordingly. Our technology just amplifies this.

The authorities were equally alarmed at the invention of the printing press and it's potential for propaganda.

Twitter is also a powerful tool for good, of course. Just think of the arab uprising for example. And to a lesser extent, the call now for communities to counter the rioters by collectively cleaning up the mess.

I'm growing increasingly furious at the government for taking away the youth centres that many of these wayward youngsters availed of. They are rudderless now with no clue where to go for guidance as they struggle on their journey to adulthood.

We are much too protective of young children in this country. We do not let them take any risks. We don't allow them to walk to school. There is an irrational fear of the stranger. They're mollycoddled. They are not making decisions for themselves early enough. And then when they become teenagers their loud and boisterous behaviour has adults cowering in fear. THEY'RE JUST KIDS! They're all too aware of their being marginalised. And many of the parents of these wayward youth are themselves not well developed adults.

There are of course so many other issues at work here too. I know that. But for adolescents, it's very easy to be lead astray. These are extremely vulnerable people and we adults need to be more involved in guiding them. These are potentially extremely intelligent people with copious amounts of energy and dynamism that could be such a massive force for good in our society and it boggles my mind that they should be so isolated. They are this country's most precious resource and this government just doesn't get it.

I really think it's time to very seriously debate lowering the voting age. Let's get these youngsters involved in the political process. Let's give them a voice while they're young, fearless and confident instead of letting them become young, terrified of their future prospects and utterly dejected with nothing to lose as appears to be the case with the looters and rioters.

Let's try and figure this out.

http://paultreacy.com