Neighbours who witnessed a riot outside their homes have described the scenes of "horror".

Hundreds of youths gathered in Church Road, Leyton on Wednesday, July 26 after being refused entry to a party in nearby Willow Brook Primary School.

Cars parked on the road were jumped upon and had their windscreens smashed while traffic was brought to a standstill.

Riot police were called in at 9pm and it took three hours for the crowd to be dispersed.

One police officer was injured after missiles were thrown from the crowd.

East London and West Essex Guardian Series:

Riot police and dog units were called in to deal with the incidetnt. Pic credit Sam Chikowore.

Zsu Subratty who has lived in the road for 30 years said: “I have never seen anything like it.

“I was in the back when I heard some noise and I looked out the window.

“There were so many police in armour I didn’t know what was happening.

“I am looking after my elderly mother who just came out of hospital. I was too afraid to come out of my house.”

An elderly resident who has lived in the street for 12 years said: “When I heard the noise I turned off all my lights and peeked out through the curtains.

East London and West Essex Guardian Series:

Neighbours awoke to find their cars damaged.

“I saw people jumping on cars and smashing windscreens. It was absolute horror.

“I was so afraid I closed my curtains and didn’t want to be seen. It was terrible. I was getting messages from neighbours to see if I was ok.

“There was so much noise. There was a line of police from one side of the road to the other and they had shields and were covering their heads.”

Another witness said she believes the youths, who looked to be in their late teens or early 20s were drunk because of the “hysterical” way they were behaving.

A spokesman for the Met said: “Officers sought to disperse the crowd, the majority of whom complied with police.

East London and West Essex Guardian Series:

“However, at around 11pm a group became hostile, and missiles were thrown at police officers.

“Most of those present had dispersed by midnight.

“There have been no arrests. CCTV footage will be viewed to identify anyone who committed criminal acts.

“One police officer sustained a minor injury.”