Mayhem ensued when hundreds of children flocked to the town centre on the last day of school term.
In several videos shared across TikTok, and seen by the Watford Observer, dozens of police and security officers can also be seen trying to defuse the situation.
The footage was taken on Friday, July 21, in various places in Watford including the Atria shopping centre near the cinema and along the High Street.
In one of the videos a group of teenagers can be seen falling over as the crowd runs away from one of the shops.
A boy can also be seen throwing at drink at the front of a bus in the video.
In other clips children can be seen being taken into a police van.
At one point there is footage of two boys standing on the back of a bus while it is moving.
One woman posted on Facebook what she saw while in the town centre describing large groups of children “causing trouble” and it being “very wrong”.
She explained how the entrance doors to shops had to be “taped off” and a “shopkeeper had to break off from serving to stop kids helping themselves to drink machines, going to walk out and when challenged they say, ‘it’s free’”.
She added that some groups of children were “minding their own business”, while others “we encountered were very rude and abusive in their comments when just asked if they could move aside to let people pass”.
A police spokesperson said they were called to reports of a large crowd of young people causing disturbance inside Atria shopping centre just before 2.25pm.
They added: “Officers immediately attended the scene and worked in liaison with the atria centre security staff to manage the crowd, as well as ensure the safety of the wider public.”
A section 35 dispersal order was put in place to prevent further anti-social behaviour, meaning those involved were required by police to leave the area.
“Officers continued to patrol and monitor the situation throughout the afternoon however the majority of the young people had left the area of their own accord by 5pm,” they said.
(Source: Watford Observer)
