Terrified shoppers including pregnant woman shelter in stores while teenagers cause mayhem in Clapham

A pregnant woman was among those hiding in a shop as teenagers attacked south London’s high street as part of an Easter holiday “hook-up”.

Footage circulating on social media showed a large crowd of young people, many wearing masks, gathering on Clapham High Street on Tuesday evening as many supermarkets closed their doors.

Police appeared to be in the area and made several arrests.

A TikTok video showed smoke rising from Clapham Common as scores of police officers attended the scene.

The video’s caption read: “DO NOT participate in Clapham Courts links.”

Another clip showed young people gathering outside a McDonald’s branch on the main street and speeding away when a police car pulled up.

Schools were closed for the Easter holidays last Friday and disruption to schools was first reported in Clapham on Saturday; The Metropolitan Police issued a school dispersal order after more than 100 young people gathered at a supermarket following reports of theft.

Elaine Canning, store manager at Tapi Carpets and Floors in Clapham High Street, said a pregnant woman was among those seeking refuge in her store during the disruption on Tuesday.

Mrs Canning told Independent On Wednesday: “There were some people coming into the shop on Saturday and people just passing by went in to hide.

“Last night there was a pregnant woman and her husband, they came for about 10-15 minutes.”

He added: “It would be [panicked]You are worried about falling over because you are pregnant.

“But to be fair, I don’t think they were physically threatening to members of the public.”

The store manager described the scenes that unfolded as “frightening” but said those gathering were mostly targeting food stores.

Ms Canning said she was told to be careful on Tuesday afternoon by others working on the road as they had heard another meeting was planned, which appeared to have been advertised on social media.

“It’s not nice because you don’t know if they’re going to come here and trash the place or just keep walking by,” he added.

“But they weren’t targeting members of the public or anything like that. They were just bored kids.”

Charles Duamroh, who works at Tapi Carpets and Floors, said: Independent He said he was concerned that such scenes would continue throughout the week as the Easter school holidays continue.

“They experienced it on Saturday and it happened yesterday as well. So, do you know what will happen next? So who will stop it now?” he said.

A police van was briefly parked on Clapham High Street near M&S Food on Wednesday morning. A small number of police officers walked up and down the road, but no stores appeared to have increased their security.

Describing what he has witnessed in recent days, Mr Duamroh said: “On Saturday the police were literally screaming to keep moving.

“Yesterday, more everyone was running. Boys were running, girls were running and the police were running too. You couldn’t tell who was chasing whom.”

Ali, who works at the Bargain Store and did not want to give his surname, said he saw a large group of young people around Sainsbury’s on Clapham High Street.

“They went into Sainsbury’s and took the goods and threw them at each other. What was the purpose of this? I don’t know.”

Paula Teixeira, co-owner of the Clapham High Street branch of photography shop Snappy Snaps, said: IndependentHe had seen “hundreds of children” gathering on Clapham Common on Saturday, as well as two police vans in the area.

“They were gathering in front of McDonald’s. I’m not exactly sure what was going on, but they would run in here from time to time, some of them going over to Prescott Place, laughing and actually trying to get each other into mischief.”

Asked what might stop this from continuing, Ms Teixeira said: “I don’t think they’re too afraid of the police to be honest.

“They come in large groups and a few may disperse for a while when the police start talking to them, but they return after the police leave.

In a statement on Tuesday evening, the Metropolitan Police said: “Police are responding to an ongoing incident in Clapham High Street following reports of a large crowd of young people causing anti-social behaviour.

“Officers are at the scene and a dispersal order has been issued, meaning anyone gathered must leave the area.

“Two teenage girls have now been arrested and detained on suspicion of assaulting an emergency worker.

“Officers will remain in the area to offer support and respond to concerns from local people and businesses.”

Independent has approached the Met for further comment.