Incidentally, the Birmingham Test between India and England is still on, even as the players have been confined to their hotels.

London, like we told you, is calm but sporadic incidents of violence were reported in Manchester, Salford, Liverpool, Wolverhampton, Nottingham, Leicester and Birmingham with shops being looted and set alight.

Rioters broke into stores and ran off with electronic and leather goods, bikes, sports shoes, branded clothes and jewellery with virtually no resistance from the police and security personnel.

Armed with swords and hockey sticks, over 700 Sikhs took to the streets last night to protect the Guru Singh Sabha gurdwara in Southall as the police were stretched to maintain law and order on the streets of London.

Local vigilante groups have been formed in various areas in London to protect homes and business establishments that have been vandalised by rioters - mainly of Afro-Caribbean origin - in London over the past four days.

Nearly 800 people have been arrested and over 100 charged in connection with violence in the capital, British authorities said. In the north western city of Manchester youths with a face cover rampaged through the city centre, hurling bottles and stones at police while vandalising stores, some stocking luxury item