On Tuesday the 26th of December, during the boxing day sales at Westfield Shopping Centre, police were called due to the claims of shoppers saying that fights and ‘riots’ were breaking out between gangs. Thousands of bargain hunters were at the shopping centre when the fights reportedly broke out.

Eleven people were arrested and two officers were injured and taken to hospital after a large fight broke out on Tuesday afternoon. Horrified shoppers described how a huge brawl broke out between two large groups, with security struggling to get the situation under control.

Two knives were seized, as the Police issued a Section 60 order which gives them the power to stop and search people after violence erupts, and three more blades were recovered from the scene.

Eventually, the two groups causing the violence dispersed. 

One Twitter user said: “Not entirely sure what happened at Westfield, whether it was a prank or gang fight but all I know is that was the most terrifying experience of my life. All I saw was a stampede of screaming people coming towards me and poor kids being trampled on.”

Many people advised others to avoid Westfield Shopping Centre due to the chaos and violence caused by the gangs. Also, many people recorded videos of the violence, chaos and people being guided out of the shopping centre by police and security guards on their mobile phones.

Sajida Yasmin, Lister Community School.