BRAWLING teenagers brought the town centre to a ‘stand still’ in Walthamstow earlier tonight as fights erupted between young people in the street.

Hundreds of youths crowded near to McDonalds in Hoe Street before fights erupted between there and High Street, shortly after 5pm.

Riot police were called to the scene and officers blocked off the entire are bringing traffic to a stop.

Violent videos later emerged online of youths brawling in the street, some girls fighting in large groups.

The hashtag #WalthamstowRiots began trending on Twitter soon after the incident.

Business owners and residents have said there were hundreds of teenagers involved.

Samee Ullah one of the co-owners of Director’s Cut in the High Street was in his restaurant at the time.

He said: “I looked out and I saw hundreds of kids shouting and screaming, they were coming from the Hoe Street end.

“It looked like someone had gone into Nandos and they were waiting for them to come out.

“They brought the whole street to a standstill.

“We asked some of them and they said it was ‘college fights’. To be honest people have been talking about riots but it wasn’t exactly that.

“There was a mix of kids – all ethnicities – and they weren’t all being aggressive.

“We thought about pulling the shutters and the police told us to stay inside before they cordoned off the end of the road.”

Resident Joe Ward, chairman of the New Lammas Lands Defence Committee was on scene shortly after the incident.

He said: “There was a massive police presence; they were explaining to everyone that there was an incident with youths.

“McDonalds was closed and the traffic was really badly affected.

“There were a number of children in school uniforms. If any of them were involved the schools need to take some responsibility.”

A spokesman for Scotland Yard said two people had been arrested following the brawl.

In a statement, he said: "Shortly after 5pm today police were called to reports of a large group of youths causing a disturbance in the Hoe Street / Station Approach area of Walthamstow.

"Officers from Waltham Forest Borough and the Territorial Support group (TSG) attended the scene.

"The group then began to disperse. There are no reports of any persons with injuries at this time.

"Two arrests have been made and enquiries into the circumstances of the incident will be made by Waltham Forest Borough officers."

Stella Creasy MP tweeted: "Furious to hear there is a fight outside Walthamstow Central station - will be following up with police but pls stay clear of area for now."

The incident followed reports of up to 100 youths fighting in Hoe Street McDonalds on Monday evening.

Reports of further violence this evening are yet to be confirmed by police.