Furniture shop ablaze in Croydon, south London; photo - EPA/Facundo Aprizabalga
The rioting spread to Croydon, 25 kilometers south of where peaceful protests against the killing of the 29-year-old man, named as Mark Duggan, took place in north London last Saturday.
Several buildings caught fire in the south London town of Croydon, including a furniture shop which had been trading since the 1870s.
Violence, much of it by kids even as young as 11 years old, also flared in Hackney in the east of the city, Lewisham in the south east and Peckham in the south.
The rioting also spread for the first time outside of the capital city, with police called to disturbances in Birmingham in the Midlands and in Liverpool in north west England.
Downing Street announced last night that Prime Minister David Cameron had cut short his holiday in Italy to return to lead operations to try and contain the worst rioting in the UK since 1985.
Manchester United and England international football player Rio Ferdinand, who was raised in Peckham, Tweeted his shock yesterday at the turn of events.
'”The scenes on Sky TV news right now are shocking..what is this all in aid of?? Innocent peoples [sic] homes + livelihoods have gone up in smoke-why?”
The England versus Holland friendly football international at Wembley stadium on Wednesday could be under threat as violence spreads throughout London.
Some have blamed the rioting partly on cuts in social services being imposed as a result of the government's tough austerity policies to reduce a large budget deficit.
Many rioters were from areas of high unemployment and said they felt alienated from society.
Though many British experts are scratching their heads trying to explain the outbreak of lawlessness, Polish sociologist Professor Ireneusz Krzeminski at Warsaw University, believes that the riots are a result of the marginalization of large groups of people in the UK, especially in London.
“There is a huge number of people in London, this enormous, sprawling city, who live on the fringe of society”.
In his view, the best method to prevent such riots is not by handing out social benefits, but through education and awakening social aspirations.
“These people should be drawn into the mainstream of society. How? Through education, not only in schools but also other institutions, by showing them career opportunities when they acquire new skills or develop their talents,” he told Polish Radio. (pg/kk)