Security barriers have been erected at Westfield after the violence erupting across London spread to the Shepherd's Bush shopping centre on Sunday night.

Gangs of youths were seen throwing stones at cars and at the mall itself.

Today, shoppers found themselves standing in line waiting to go through the hastily erected barriers under the watchful eye of security guards.

The scene caused astonishment among onlookers, including Chris Ward who snapped these photos.

The news has now spread on Twitter where Dandooni tweeted: " Security at Westfield is insane after all the rioting that has been going on in London. Police dogs and barricades everywhere."

Westfield responded to the rumours on its own Twitter feed saying: " There's lots of speculation about the events in London at the moment. We're open as usual but taking precautions."

It also responded to rumours about looting, saying : " No stores were looted yesterday. Everything is in one piece and fine over here. We're just taking extra precautions."

An official statement for the centre on its website says: " We would like to reassure our shoppers, staff and retailers that Westfield London is open as usual and reports of disturbances are inaccurate.

" We have police and Westfield security presence on site in light of the current situation across London and we are working closely with the Metropolitan Police to monitor the situation."

 

August 8, 2011