Mourners clambered on top of cars and urinated in the street in a brawl involving up to 60 travellers attending a wake in Shooters Hill, witnesses say.
Three men were arrested following the brawl, one of whom attended a south London hospital where he was treated for a head injury.
Witnesses say a large group of travellers involved in the fighting were attending a wake and had been swigging from beer cans in the street.
Maddie Mansfield, who lives on Shooters Hill and posted pictures of the scene on Twitter, told News Shopper more than 100 police officers turned up after the fight broke out.
The 19-year-old said: "It was very, very noisy.
"There was a huge fist fight involving loads of people, definitely 60-plus at one point."
Police at the scene on Shooters Hill (Photo: Maddie Mansfield)
A neighbour, who asked not to be named and whose house and van were damaged during the violence, said: "People were petrified.
"I have never seen anything like it.
"They were standing on the roof of my neighbour’s car.
"He’s had thousands of pounds worth of damage done.
"They were urinating in the street and doing number twos as well.
"I was hosing them down from my garden the next day."
Amanda Barry, also of Shooters Hill, said her husband had earlier overheard travellers, who were sat outside the Red Lion pub, say they were celebrating a wake.
She told News Shopper: "It started to get quite noisy outside at about nine o’clock.
"The neighbours and I came out to see what was going on and they were everywhere."
Mrs Barry said nearby restaurant The Jasmine was forced to close early at around 6pm after a group of travellers became angry when they were refused use of the toilet.
The 37-year-old mum-of-four added: "They began to urinate in the street outside the restaurant and glasses were being thrown into the restaurant garden."
Caravans parked on Shooters Hill on Saturday (Photo: Amanda Barry)
Mrs Barry said around 30 to 40 travellers’ caravans arrived on the field opposite her house over the weekend but left on Monday morning after Greenwich Council intervened.
The caravans have since been photographed on Plumstead Common.
News Shopper has contacted Greenwich Council for comment regarding the travellers.
Simon McDonagh, 33, a Tottenham car salesman and David Ward, 38, unemployed from Enfield, have both been charged with affray and appeared in custody at court on July 4.
A third man, who was arrested, has been released without charge.
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 hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel