A gold shop owner has said he feels ignored by the council since his riots ordeal.

Kanagaratnam Paramanathan, 56, from Purley, owns the JK Gold and Fashion house on London Road.

Mr Paramanathan lost 90 per cent of his jewellery and clothes stock, whilst the looters also smashed the inside of his shop and damaged his security shutters. He said his business 60 per cent down.

He is now struggling to get insurance as companies have put up their prices because of the riots.

He said: "We have not got a single penny from the insurance company. They say that they are liaising with the police, but all we had from them is a letter saying that they acknowledge our claim.

"It isn’t fair as it isn’t my fault that my shop was targeted during the riots.

"I was told by the council to give them my details. I gave it to them three weeks ago and I have heard nothing back.

"Some of the buildings haven’t even been repaired; it means all those bad memories aren’t going away.

He said: "Things are bad enough with the economic situation. This part of London Road had the additional problem of riots.

"What we need from a local level is initiatives to help bring people back to this area. Surely that is something the council could do. We feel ignored."