THIS week marks a decade since the London riots which took place between August 6-11 2011, and affected Ealing as well.

It is widely believed that the riots first started in Tottenham, after a black man, Mark Duggan, was killed by a police officer on August 4.

Overnight looting took place in Tottenham and Wood Green, while over the course of the next few days this spread to other areas across the capital and across the country as well.

Ealing Broadway in particular was targeted for looting, violence and unrest, resulting in huge damage and losses to the high streets.

Local resident, Richard Mannington Bowes, was tragically killed by a blow to his head as he was trying to put out a fire in a bin.

Nine residential properties were affected, with two set on fire and six looted, while over 100 local shops and businesses were damaged.

Seba Electronics was one of those shops, where looters made off with over £200,000 worth of stock.

Over 1,000 calls to emergency services were made in Ealing alone on the evening of August 8.

Following the riots, the community - both businesses and residents - came together to clear up, rebuild and support Ealing's high streets.

By October of that year, 236 people were arrested in connection to the riots in Ealing, of which 61 were juveniles.

The majority of them were reportedly from outside the borough.

Now, 10 years on, Councillor Bassam Mahfouz, Ealing Council's cabinet lead for decent living incomes, said: "We all remember the horror and trauma of the riots that hit Ealing's streets in August 2011, which saw businesses smashed, looted and faced massive setbacks.

"The tears of so many business owners as they saw the overnight impact of that wreckage.

"But the resilience of Ealing shone through, and we rebuilt our town centre.

"Now 10 years later, our businesses have been hit by almost 18 months of COVID, and it's taken its toll.

"Let us use this opportunity to build back Ealing better than ever before."