As police lost control of the streets of London last night, locals were forced to take the law into their own hands to protect their homes and businesses.In Dalston and Hackney, north-east London, shopkeepers and their families fought back against looting youths and forced them from the streets. As surrounding areas were pillaged members of the town's large Turkish community stood firm outside their homes and businesses.One man said: 'This is Turkish Kurdish area. They come to our shops and we fight them with sticks.'Vigilantes: Mobs of Turkish men throng the streets in Dalston, where they chased away rioters intent on looting shops and businesses
Taking over the streets: A large crowd gathered in this street in Hackney, east London, before clashing with the police
Destruction: A group of looters flee from clothes store Blue Inc in Peckham after stealing clothes
On Shacklewell Lane, where a single-deck bus was burned out, stick-wielding shopkeepers stood defiant in the street after chasing away a gang of youngsters intent on destruction.
One, who would not give his name, said: 'We beat up four of them quite badly and they ran off.' Another said: 'This is not justice, coming here and trying to attack us.'
In testament to the men's bravery, several businesses on the street remained open as usual, unlike other areas where shopkeepers had heeded police advice to shut their doors early.
Guardian reporter Paul Lewis described the scenes on Kingsland Road, Hackney, as Turkish men clashed mainly youths, tweeting: 'Kingsland Road chaotic as Turkish men attack other, predominantly black, youths with sticks, metal barricades and bricks.'
In a further tweet Mr Lewis quoted a man carrying a stick as saying: 'This is Turkish Kurdish area. They come to our shops and we fight them with sticks.'
South of the river in Tooting, near to Clapham, where high streets were ravaged, Asian shopkeepers shut up early and stood guard outside their stores with their relatives to protect them.
A local resident, who asked not to be named, said: 'With no police on the streets, it could've been a free-for-all for criminals. I'm so relieved it didn't kick off round here last night. If it had kicked off I dread to think what would have happened.'
Late night looters: A group of youths run through the streets in Dalston, east London, after breaking into the area's Kingsland shopping centre
In spite of the fact that people were forced to take the law into their own hands to defend homes and businesses across the capital, Home Secretary Theresa May this morning refused to authorise the deployment of heavier weapons and tactics to combat the civil unrest.
She said: 'The disorder we've seen is at a level that hasn't been seen for some years in this country. We do need to bring an end to it and we need to bring an end to it soon.'
'There is no excuse for these levels of criminality and it needs to be dealt with. These people need to see that there are consequences for their actions.
'We need robust policing but we also need to ensure that justice is done through the courts and this will begin today.'
She hailed the 'strong leadership' of the police as she called on local communities and parents to help efforts to keep the peace.
Asked if the Army would be brought in, Mrs May said an end to the riots could be brought with policing, the use of intelligence and the help of local communities.
'The way we police in Britain is not through use of water cannon,' she said. 'The way we police in Britain is through consent of communities.'
By midnight flashpoints had multiplied around London, with Clapham, Hackney, Dalston, Peckham, Woolwich and Lewisham added to the list which already included Enfield, Walthamstow and Tottenham.
And there were fears that the chaos could spread nationwide, with Croydon to the south of the capital ablaze, and even Birmingham and Bristol joining in the destruction as hundreds of youths smashed shop windows and looted the contents.
At 2.30am the Metropolitan Police changed tactics in the Lavender Hill area of Clapham, introducing armoured vehicles to push back more than 150 people where substantial damage was being caused to shops and local businesses.
Because the tactic was a success police are now considering using the same tactic elsewhere.
Commander Christine Jones, said: 'We are using tactics flexibly to respond to the disorder we are still seeing in different areas of the capital.
'Anyone involved in criminality should be under no illusion that we will pursue you.
