�Looters swept through Chalk Farm and Camden Town on Monday night, raiding shops and causing widespread fear among residents and traders.

Gangs of youths cycled and ran through the streets, smashing shop windows and stealing clothes, food, bicycles and alcohol, in copycat riots.

Evans Cycles in Chalk Farm Road was targeted by yobs who smashed the window and stole designer bicycles.

Domino’s pizza take-away was also hit, with youths intimidating staff and shattering the window.

Thugs broke through the shutters at Lal, a designer clothes shop in Chalk Farm Road, and emptied shelves. JD Sports in Camden Town was another target.

Robbers broke into Sainsbury’s in Chalk Farm Road, grabbing food, drinks and condiments from the aisles.

On Tuesday morning, two police officers guarded the front of the supermarket.

An employee at Evans, who lives in Kentish Town Road, said that he and his neighbours had been woken up by youths trying to break in.

He said: “They tried to break into our block of buildings. I called the police but they were totally overwhelmed.” However, he praised police for their bravery after witnessing officers charge a group of youths in Kentish Town, even though they were not wearing riot gear.

Khaled Erori, operations director of Domino’s Pizza franchise in Camden Town, was in shock after his shops in both Camden and Croydon were attacked.

Petrified employers in the Croydon branch had telephoned him to say that youths were approaching the shop on Monday night. He said that a gang entered, throwing equipment on the floor and swearing at staff.

Meanwhile, in Camden staff locked themselves in until police arrived 30 minutes later and escorted them off the premises. But the take-away was attacked later that night.

Mr Erori said: “The police were overstretched big time. They did their best to get our staff out. We then turned off the electricity to the shop, shut it up and secured it. I thought it was fine, until I saw on Sky News that my shop had been attacked at 3am.”

On Tuesday shops across Hampstead, Belsize Park and Muswell Hill closed early and boarded up their windows fearing another night of rioting but the evening was calm with violence mainly occurring in Manchester.