A warm late summer afternoon on a leafy street in an area colonised by fashionable cafes and shops came to an abrupt end when the peace was shattered by a raw, terrifying eruption of gang violence this week.
Armed with spades, screwdrivers, bars and sticks, two gangs clashed and sent locals fleeing into shops for safety.
This running battle between black and Asian youths – a sickening example of brutal Britain today – was captured by a photographer who had been waiting in the street to take a photo of the actress Julie Christie, who lives nearby.
In one picture, youths wielding sticks and spades attack each other and in another, a youth wearing a hoodie and a baseball cap uses a screwdriver in a stabbing motion.
Some of the gang members wore masks as they charged down the street waving sticks and other assorted weapons – one even brandishing a Wellington boot as a makeshift weapon.
The confrontation happened on Wednesday in streets around Columbia Road, East London, which is home to a popular Sunday morning flower market.
The fracas lasted around 20 minutes and involved at least ten gang members. It is
understood to have flared after an Asian man accused several youths of vandalising his property.
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