Riot police called to mass brawl between schoolchildren

'Pandemonium' on streets of south-east London as fight breaks out between dozens of young people

Police cordon off a crime scene
(Image credit: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)

Two people have been taken to hospital and six were arrested after a mass brawl broke out between schoolchildren in south-east London yesterday afternoon.

The Metropolitan Police said officers were called to "a large fight" between teenagers in Northumberland Heath in Bexley.

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A video captured on Snapchat showed a group armed with table legs kicking and beating someone lying on the ground before a woman intervened.

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A witness told the London Evening Standard: "It was just absolute pandemonium. There were kids screaming at each other."

"It was just scary. It was school kids, basically, all in their uniforms, with hoods up and lots with their faces covered up. Some had knives and bats and who knows what.

"There were a hell of a lot of people very concerned about it. People were out there with their children and dog walkers who didn’t know which way to go."

A passer-by told local newspaper the News Shopper: "This is what we as residents had to put up with tonight at Northumberland Heath.

"Rival gangs, most in school uniform. I've never seen anything like this... this area is going downhill fast."

A police spokesman confirmed they had been called to the park at 5.40pm after "reports of a large fight between a group of youths".

He added: "Two individuals suffered non-life threatening injuries. They were taken to a south London hospital by London Ambulance Service to be treated for their injuries.

"Around six individuals were arrested and are in custody at south London police stations."

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