The first missile hit the police van about 9.30pm, barely two hours later parts of Colliers Wood were ablaze.

Earlier, more than 100 youths, orchestrated by social media, congregated before a small group inched toward the police van parked at the Tandem Centre.

The van, not forsaking a couple of patrol cars, was the only visible police presence.

When it came under attack – from rocks, bricks, glass, stones – it, and the police cars, quite rightly retreated.

As a petrol station was looted riot police stood guard, but the Tandem Centre and the Priory Retail Park were left to its fate.

The looters were not exclusively black or white, but young, early teenagers, who seemed to treat the night as a special event, a celebratory occasion.

There were no shouts of ‘justice’ – which came from protestors in Tottenham following the fatal police shooting of a father-of-four – or derogatory comments about police or bankers.

There was no talk about lack of opportunities, poverty or the future, the only calls that rang out were ‘PC World’ or ‘JD Sport’ – the next looting site.

A teenage girl, perhaps 15, was beaming as she walked with a new pram loaded with booty from Mothercare. Another boy greeted his friend with a handshake and a hug as they showed-off their new gains.

The frenzy continued at JD Sport. There was no sense of urgency, the police had long gone, leaving teenagers picking through clothes and trainers to find the correct size.

Further south, in the Priory Retail Park, Harvery’s furniture store was set alight as was Mothercare. A number of youths tried to crawl under the shutter at PC World.

A couple got stuck behind the safety grill, leading some of the looters to hail firemen – who stormed into the scene fearlessly and were not troubled by the mob.

They freed a couple of looters, but in the commotion there were fears others were trapped inside, possibly trapped as fires from neighbouring stores spread.

In the commotion, youths were frantically trying to call friends to check they were not inside.

One teenage girl – no more than 16 - was screaming ‘my sister could be dying in there’. Some 10 minutes later she was trying on a new jumper outside JD Sport.

Other teens threw punches as they scrapped over some of the merchandise as news of unexpected bounties spread on social media.

One teen, quite politely, said: “excuse me, do you know where JD Sport is?”.

Thankfully, the scene of the rioting was mostly confined to a retail site - so street scenes like those in Tottenham, Brixton and Croydon were avoided.

But as the clear-up and post mortem starts there are questions.

What were these teens doing there, did they feel so disenfranchised and worthless they thought torching and looting the shops they will all want to go to in the next few weeks was a good idea?

Will those shops ever reopen, or take it as their cue to leave an already struggling area and set up elsewhere?

Were the police right to retreat and leave the looters to it – arguably yes, they were contained in an area with no public and were only a danger to themselves.

And, as the scenes are replayed this morning, what, if anything, will the parents of all of those wearing new trainers and shirts say to their children?

And, perhaps more pertinently, will those that were there last night ever engage in a conversation with others in the community who want to give them the tools to develop themselves and ultimately take control of their lives?

The question for everyone is if they don’t, what then?

But, first of all, we need to get through tonight and the next few days.

Did you see what happened last night? What do you think? Call 020 8722 6334 or email: pcahalan@london.newsquest.co.uk.