Fire fighters battle to put out a blaze in Tottenham

BBC

Petrol bombs have been thrown at police and three patrol cars, and a bus and buildings have been set on fire in a riot in Tottenham, north London.

Eight injured police officers have been taken to hospital, at least one of them with head injuries, reports the BBC.

The unrest began after a protest over the fatal shooting by police of 29-year-old Mark Duggan on Thursday.

About 300 people gathered outside the police station on the High Road after demonstrators demanded "justice".

London Ambulance Service said a total of 10 people had been treated and nine had been taken to hospital.

Two patrol cars were set alight at about 20:20 BST but officers were not inside at the time.

Shops in the area have also been looted with people seen pushing away shopping trolleys full of goods.

A double-decker bus was set on fire at the junction of High Road and Brook Street while a shop on the High Road was also set alight.

Fire crews were initially unable to reach the shop due to the disorder but later began tackling the flames.

A BBC TV news crew and satellite truck also came under attack from youths throwing missiles.

The youths had begun attacking another police patrol car before the TV crew were targeted and they were withdrawn in the interests of their own safety. The police car was later set alight.

Commander Stephen Watson, of the Metropolitan Police, told BBC News a significant number of officers had been deployed with the aim of restoring "calm and normality to the area as soon as possible".

Tottenham MP David Lammy appealed for calm saying: "The scenes currently taking place in our community are not representative of the vast majority of people in Tottenham.

"Those who remember the destructive conflicts of the past will be determined not to go back to them.

"We already have one grieving family in our community and further violence will not heal that pain.

"True justice can only follow a thorough investigation of the facts.

"The Tottenham community and Mark Duggan's family and friends need to understand what happened on Thursday evening when Mark lost his life. To understand those facts, we must have calm."

Protesters are believed to have gathered outside the police station at about 17:00 BST.

The force said the situation turned violent when two patrol cars parked about 200 metres away on Forster Road and High Road were attacked.

The spokesman said: "A number of bottles were thrown at these two cars - one was set alight and the second was pushed into the middle of the High Road. It was subsequently set slight.