It has been ten years since rioters descended the streets across London, including in Croydon, Merton and Wandsworth.
On August 4, 2011, Mark Duggan was fatally shot by police in Tottenham, which sparked civil unrest across the UK.
The riots took place across five nights which saw businesses and homes wrecked and engulfed by fire.
On the 10th anniversary of the riots, we reflect on the scenes and the impact of those nights.
Reeves Corner, Croydon
On the night of August 8, 2011, Maurice Reeves had been dining in central London with his wife Anne to celebrate their 21st wedding anniversary.
After returning home to South Croydon, he switched on the news - and watched his life's work going up in flames.
"I put the television on and saw what I thought was a burning building," he recalls this week. "And I said, 'That looks like my store.'
Opened in 1867 by Mr Reeve's great-grandfather Edwin, the House of Reeves furniture store in Croydon town centre had survived two world wars and the Great Depression.
It had lent its name to the road junction on which it sat, and the nearby Reeves Corner tram stop.
Mr Reeves watched in horror as the store that had stood firm for 154 years burnt to the ground before his eyes.
In a new statement on Reeves Corner's website, it stated: "In August 2011 Croydon was a war zone as riots and violence broke out.
"Our Flagship store on Reeves Corner was razed to the ground, but as you can see, we recovered and continue to provide quality products and service like we have for the last 154 years."
London Road, West Croydon
The cost of the damage inflicted in London Road alone was estimated in the days after the riots to have totalled £14m.
At the time of the incident, a Croydon councillor called Mr Newman described the destruction caused to the street.
He had flown back from Italy on the morning of August 9 and said the smell of burning in the air was still present on London Road.
At the time of the incident, he told Your Local Guardian: “As I walked through there was rubble, burning buildings, semi-demolished buildings and an awful smell of steel burning and smoke in the air.
“It is not too dramatic to say that parts of it looked like a warzone… it was a truly shocking thing to see.”
In the hours following the carnage, Croydon Council faced accusations that West Croydon and London Road had been “sacrificed” to protect North End.
Businesses said that when police arrived, officers formed a line at the entrance to North End, but allowed the mob to ransack shops further down London Road.
Even after the incident, those on London Road said they struggled to get their voices heard as the clean-up operation was underway.
Scenes mirrored largely across the borough of Croydon - stretching from Norbury, all the way to the Whitgift Centre which was targeted by looters.
Colliers Wood, Merton
Scenes were replicated in Colliers Wood, when gangs of well over 100 people targeted the Tandem Centre.
A police van was attacked by rioters throwing bottles and rocks, whilst looters tried to break into stores at the retail centre.
In one scene a group of people managed to break into JD Sports after nearly an hour of attrition against the store's exterior.
Nearby, more emergency services were called to destruction by the old Mothercare site in Colliers Wood.
Mothercare was set on fire and groups had broken into PC World, where many took off with TVs and other electronic items.
Firefighters were also forced to rescue a looter who has become trapped underneath a steel shutter at PC World.
Wandsworth
Over in Wandsworth, groups had formed on Battersea's Winstanley Estate. They were armed with bottles, bricks and sticks and orchestrated attacks on police officers and vehicles.
Within an hour the group, had made their way to Clapham Junction in masks and balaclavas, where they were joined by similar sized gangs from the nearby Peabody Estate.
Soon rioters turned their attention to JD Sports, Debenhams, Ladbrokes, Ocean Hair Salon and Pizza Express with vehicles being called in to carry away their loot.
In total 109 shops and businesses were attacked, with 25 were seriously damaged, although miraculously the London Ambulance Service reported that no one was badly hurt.
One of the principal targets was the Party Superstore, on St John's Hill, which was first fleeced of virtually all of its stock and then set ablaze.
Stay tuned for our next article, which will feature an interview with the Party Superstore ten years on.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here