Police ‘make arrests left, right and centre’ at Notting Hill Carnival as Met ‘clampdown on hippy crack’ and anti-social behaviour

Police have been making arrests ‘left, right and centre’, a reveller at Notting Hill Carnival has claimed as authorities look to clamp down on anti-social behaviour.

More than one million people hit the streets of the west London district as Adults Day commenced earlier this morning. 

A sea of colourful costumes, floats, dancing and music flooded the streets in celebration of Caribbean culture. 

Yesterday officers made more than 140 arrests, 105 at the event itself and 35 on the approaches as a result of police facial recognition systems and patrolling officers. 

Elsewhere in the Lancaster Road area, a flurry of arrests in separate incidents have taken place with five people taken into custody in five minutes. 

A young woman was apprehended by at least 13 officers shouting ‘get off’ and ‘get off me’, after smashing a glass bottle of alcohol at police, her friend claimed.

‘I’m already on bail. I can’t do anything. I don’t really care,’ her friend, a man in his 20s, said. ‘She threw a bottle of cider at a police officer.’

‘The atmosphere has turned. It’s all kicking off,’ a reveller remarked. ‘They’re arresting people left, right and centre.’

A young man in his 20s, was stopped and searched by police, who are understood to have found nitrous oxide, known as ‘hippy crack’, in his possession.

The Met Police have appeared to clamp down on the class C drug, as they are believed to have seized a large amount of canisters of the suspected substance.

Another young man was taken away by a number of officers, saying: ‘I have a medical card. I am being forcibly arrested by the police. I have a medical card.’

In Lancaster Road, a man in his 20s was detained, with one of his friends saying it was ‘outrageous’ and describing the police as ‘very heavy handed’. 

‘They claimed it was drugs. There’s no way it’s drugs,’ he said.

Arrests on the first day of the festival, the children’s day parade, were up by around 40 percent compared to the previous year, where 104 were detained. 

Of the 140 arrests yesterday, 150 took place at the carnival, while 35 were made on the approach to the event. 

Thirteen of the 35 arrests were the result of facial recognition – a new technology being deployed by the force which captures people’s faces on real-time CCTV cameras. 

Meanwhile, more than half a dozen police officers were seen carrying one man who was seemingly resisting arrest near Portobello Road yesterday afternoon. 

Shortly beforehand, police appeared to be carrying out a stop-and-search on a young man who had been placed in handcuffs nearby. 

On Sunday, a Met Police spokesperson said: ‘The policing operation for the first full day of Notting Hill Carnival has moved into the dispersal phase as crowds head home from the event.

‘A significant number of officers remain in the area to deal with any incidents.’

Earlier this morning, as the event headed into full swing, those gathering said they wanted a ‘peaceful’ event.

Margaret Joseph, 65, said: ‘We just want a nice day. It needs to be peaceful. 

‘We always get some morons who ruin it and the police can also be very heavy handed and over the top. The sun is out and I’m really excited. It’ll be amazing.’

Shopkeeper Derek Joseph, 54, has boarded up his corner shop near Paddington in anticipation for the event after his windows were ‘smashed’ a few years ago.

‘A few years ago my windows got smashed when I didn’t board them up. It caused a huge mess. It was a big regret,’ he said. 

‘So I have always boarded them up since. I wish people would calm down. It always kicks off on the Monday at the event. 

‘It breaks my heart because I love the festival itself.’

Reveller Dionne Redwood, 45, said: ‘I know police are doing their job but it can feel intimidating. They don’t help themselves. It adds to the tension.’

Elsewhere, some residents living in the plush west London district, have opened up their homes, charging attendees £2 for using the toilet.  

Some residents have opened up their flats and homes to charge those attending £2 for using the toilet.

Homeowner Mark Dills, 54, said: ‘I’ll probably make a couple of thousand pounds throughout the day. 

‘People say I’m mad opening my home to people attending but it makes a bit of easy money.

‘Yesterday, I had to stop what I think was a couple who wanted to use it to have sex going inside.

‘I’m not a brothel! But people are more than welcome to use the toilet.’

It comes as two women brawled on the street in front of horrified onlookers at Notting Hill Carnival’s family and children’s day. 

In a clip uploaded to TikTok, two young revellers trade furious blows in the middle of the packed street.  

The brawling pair can be seen grappling, pulling each other by the hair and throwing punches as onlookers shout: ‘Where is security?’

Friends can be seen trying to break up the fight as carnival music blares in the background.   

A Met Police spokesperson said: ‘It doesn’t appear this incident was brought to officers’ attention at the time. We’re also not aware of any subsequent reports or allegations from the parties involved.’

Yesterday was the children’s day parade, where family-friendly activities and events are accompanied by street dancing. 

Workers have also started clearing away the rubbish left by revellers – which is expected to total more than 300 tonnes across the weekend.

Kensington and Chelsea Council said more than 180 cleaners and 45 waste collection vehicles will work to get the borough’s streets clean again by Tuesday morning.

Pictures taken on Sunday night show SUEZ workers clearing 150 tonnes of rubbish – including half-eaten takeaway food and bottles of booze.

Councillor Johnny Thalassites said: ‘Our communities rightly expect their streets to be back to normal and ready for business by Tuesday morning after Carnival, and we’re very proud to deliver that year in, year out.

‘It’s a major operation and I am in awe of the hard-working men and women in our waste crews who work tirelessly through the night to collect the rubbish on Sunday and Monday.

‘The work doesn’t stop there. Over the next week we do extra jet-washing and graffiti cleaning so that the streets are back to normal, fast.’

Gary O’Hagan, regional manager at SUEZ, said: ‘We are fully prepared for one of the biggest clean-up operations in Europe, with over 180 staff and 45 vehicles ready to be deployed across the north of the borough throughout the weekend, expected to collect over 300 tonnes of waste and recycling.

‘Thanks to years of experience, we have a well-established operational plan to ensure our clean-up runs smoothly and efficiently.

‘Our crews work incredibly hard, often through the night, to ensure that the streets are returned to normal as quickly as possible.

‘We’re proud to play a key role in getting the area looking clean and tidy again after such a landmark event for the borough, with the bulk of the clean-up completed in time for Tuesday’s early morning commuters.’

Dating back to 1966, Notting Hill Carnival takes over the west London district for one weekend a year, transforming it into a colourful celebration of Caribbean culture. 

The festival began at 6am, with festival-goers gathering for J’Ouvert celebrations, which means ‘daybreak’ in French Creole. Attendees paraded through the streets and sprayed brightly-coloured paints and powders to get into the carnival spirit.

Three men splattered in paint were even spotted dancing on top of a bus stop outside Ladbroke Grove station, near Portobello Road Market, as celebrations got off to a very early start.

Hundreds gathered under a bridge where they danced and launched paint into the air as Europe’s biggest street party got underway in flamboyant style yesterday.

Some were dressed in blue overalls to protect their clothes from the paint, while others wore their most colourful outfits or took part in a tradition from the Caribbean island of Grenada called Jab-Jab.

This is where they cover their bodies in black oil, tar, mud or paint, wear horns and drag chains in a satirical celebration to recognise the detrimental impact of British colonialism and the slave trade upon Caribbean nations.

Police have said they anticipate over a million people will descend on the plush London area ‘for what is one of the most significant weekends in the capital’s cultural calendar’.  

The main carnival parade route stretches across three miles of west London streets, passing by Ladbroke Grove, Great Western Road, and Westbourne Park, with party-goers enjoying dazzling parades boasting flags from across the Caribbean. 

Yesterday a 72-second silence was held in remembrance of the Grenfell Tower fire victims, which will be repeated again today at 3pm.