An Easter egg hunt in Milton Keynes which enticed youths over social media with promises of trainers and tracksuits as prizes resulted in yobs clashing with police – days after teenagers caused disorder in Clapham and Birmingham.
Trainer reseller Stars Sneakers and luxury clothing retailer Grind & Garms used their social media pages to advertise their joint Easter Egg hunt, inviting their thousands of followers to meet outside Budgens in Milton Keynes yesterday at 4.30pm.
Thames Valley Police said the gathering was ‘initially good natured’ but as the numbers increased, the ‘crowd behaviour changed’ and yobs began fighting with officers.
The force had no choice but to implement a dispersal order at around 7.26pm and one person was arrested and later let go.
Police said a ‘small number of individuals were briefly detained to prevent further disturbance taking place’.
Footage posted on social media shows officers in a stand off with a large group of youths in tracksuits outside Midsummer Place shopping centre in Milton Keynes yesterday evening.
Clips show the balaclava-clad teenagers running away from officers as one cop pushed a boy who looked like he was trying to intimidate police and a girl wrestled with police.
In others, a teen is caught trying to get away and a boy is seen being tackled to the floor by officers with others shouting at the group to ‘get back’ as sirens blared.
A Thames Valley Police spokesperson said: ‘We received a report of a large group gathering in Campbell Park yesterday around 4.15pm, following an Easter Egg Hunt event being promoted on social media, which drew a large number of people.
‘Our officers engaged with organisers and monitored the situation which was initially good natured. As the numbers increased and crowd behaviour changed, a Section 34 dispersal order for Central Milton Keynes was authorised at 7.26pm yesterday (4/4). This is an order to prevent further escalation and to enable officers to effectively move people on.
Clips show the balaclava-clad teenagers running away from officers in Milton Keynes on Saturday
Trainer reseller Stars Sneakers and luxury clothing retailer Grind & Garms used their social media pages to advertise their joint Easter Egg hunt, inviting their thousands of followers to meet outside Budgens in Milton Keynes yesterday at 4.30pm
Footage posted on social media shows officers in a stand off with a large group of youths in tracksuits outside Midsummer Place shopping centre in Milton Keynes yesterday evening
‘A small number of individuals were briefly detained to prevent further disturbance taking place. One person was arrested but then de-arrested.
‘The dispersal order expired at 8am this morning.
‘We understand that large gatherings in public spaces can cause concern, especially when they appear to grow spontaneously, and when videos circulate online. Decisions were taken to protect the wider community, those taking part, and our officers; all powers were used proportionately for public safety.’
It comes after social media ‘linkups’ saw disorder in Clapham, Birmingham and Solihull last week which saw teenagers looting shops, fighting, setting fires, terrorising locals and being arrested by cops with dispersal orders put in place.
It was revealed the ‘linkups’ in Clapham on March 28 and 31 were prearranged via secretive Snapchat group chats, with plans for more this summer being discussed.
They were first arranged using a digital flyer on Snapchat which read: ‘Clapham Courts return link up 2026…Let’s bring back courts for summer from now!!!! Saturday 28 March – 2pm till late.’
At the bottom of the flyer, a line encouraged attendees to bring their own balloons – often used to consume laughing gas – as well as cannabis, Metro reported.
Messages on a leaked Snapchat group chat reveal the planning that went into the Clapham flash mob and the potential for further meet-ups.
Users exchange texts telling each other how excited they are for the flash mob, with one boasting: ‘If I’m dere police are gna be da 1 dats running.’
The group chat then goes on to discuss the chances of getting caught following the disruption with one participant asking: ‘Am I cooked?’
Concocting plans for how to escape police action, one says: ‘Tell them the police are racist.’
Burgess Park and Crystal Palace Park in south London are touted as possible locations for the next ‘link up’.
‘Crystal Palace Park is a shout,’ one person says. ‘Bc [Because] it’s too big for police to swarm it, plus there’s only one entrance police can come through and it’s all the way at the back.’
Another adds: ‘Burgess is too big for anyone to get bagged and there’s bare [lots of] exits.’
Footage from Tuesday’s meetup – which instilled panic among commuters and shoppers in Clapham – saw a police officer playing basketball with young men in the hours after mobs were attacking emergency workers and looting stores.
A video shows PC Kyp Kyriacou from the Metropolitan Police – known as the ‘slam dunking police officer’ – at Clapham Common basketball courts on Tuesday night, after teenagers had been running amok on the nearby high street in South London.
Already liked 2,500 times, the clip was posted by TikTok user @cb.wxrld with the caption: ‘I can’t get arrested now.’
The Daily Mail understands PC Kyriacou was part of the team of local officers in Clapham during the disorder, and the video was filmed once this had ended. There is no suggestion any of the men in the clip were involved in any wrongdoing.
Meanwhile, as youths ran riot in the streets, Sir Sadiq Khan urged British diplomats to help counter ‘disinformation and lies’ about London amplified by Donald Trump.
The Mayor used a Reuters interview on Tuesday to call on diplomats stationed around the world to help fight back against ‘propaganda’ from the US President.
Mr Trump, a frequent critic of Sir Sadiq whom he has called a ‘terrible mayor,’ has made a series of claims about London, including assertions that crime is ‘through the roof’ and that the city wants to ‘go to sharia law’.
But Sir Sadiq, in an interview following a meeting with British diplomats, ambassadors and high commissioners, said that London was not perfect but that it remained a safe city – safer than major US cities.
Clips show the balaclava-clad teenagers running away from officers as one cop pushed a boy who looked like he was trying to intimidate police and a girl wrestled with police
More than 300 teenagers descended on Clapham Common basketball courts on Tuesday before swarming the high street where they looted shops and attacked police
Police try to disperse the youths who took to the streets in Clapham on Tuesday afternoon
Fires were spotted burning on the fields of Clapham Common as police arrived to put them out
The Mayor pointed to data showing that London last year recorded its lowest number of homicides per capita since records began, along with a decline in 2025 in incidents of phone-snatching, for which the capital has become notorious in recent years.
He said: ‘A lot of this misinformation, disinformation and lies comes from the United States of America. It’s really important to counter the propaganda coming from President Trump.’
But a White House spokesperson, responding to Sir Sadiq’s remarks, said, ‘Left-wing policies… have made once-great cities like London unrecognisable.’
The spokesperson said President Trump was ‘rightfully warning European leaders that Western civilisation will continue to erode if they don’t quickly reverse course’.
Shopkeepers on Clapham High Street are bracing themselves for further unrest in the school holidays after it was twice swarmed by several hundred children.
Staff working on the road described having to lock their doors after teenagers ran amok on Saturday and Tuesday as part of an online trend.
The children arranged to meet in so-called ‘link-ups’ using social media apps including TikTok and Snapchat, before surging into shops, and letting off fireworks on Clapham Common.
Six teenage girls have been arrested and the Met put a 48-hour dispersal order in place on Tuesday.
Sheikh Awais, who works at chicken shop Rooster Spot, said: ‘Many children came to the high street and police were catching some people but then at least 70 to 80 children came into our shop as well.
Answering a call to cause chaos which first spawned on social media last week, scheming teens are believed to be already plotting their next mob action on group chats
Police officer Kyp Kyriacou holds the ball at Clapham Common basketball courts on Tuesday. There is no suggestion any of the men in the video were involved in any criminal wrongdoing
The young man runs towards PC Kyriacou, picks up the ball and performs a 360 dunk
‘They were shouting and sitting there, some were rude and aggressive with me. Some did go outside nicely. It is damaging for business, in the evening it is peak time, everybody is going home and buying food.
‘The police said please close the shop if you can and I said, yes.’
Yash, who works at Olive and Meze next door to Sainsbury’s, said: ‘I was working here and I witnessed it all. Once the police came to Sainsbury’s, they ran to McDonald’s and there was a fight.
‘I had to close the door, I don’t want any trouble, you don’t know what they carry and you cannot touch them. There were a lot of them, you could not count them, I would say around a thousand running around.
‘They might come back again but I don’t know why they are doing this.’
Businesses said it appeared to be mainly food shops that were targeted, with the local branch of McDonald’s reporting the theft of food.
Raz, the manager of Venus Barber shop, said: ‘I saw them from the window running down the street. I heard they had organised it on social media and apparently the police were aware of it as well.
‘Apparently, they say on Saturday it is going to happen again, last Saturday happened and apparently this Saturday is going to happen as well.’
Another shop owner said: ‘It is very strange, the shops they go to. It is not trainer shops or anything, it’s food.’
Parents of the several hundred teenagers who gathered in Clapham have been warned to take responsibility by police, and make sure that they know where their children are.
The Met said there will be further arrests as officers go through CCTV and bodyworn camera footage of what happened.
After unrest on Saturday, 100 police officers were sent to Clapham on Tuesday. Four officers were assaulted, along with one member of the public.
Detective Chief Superintendent Emma Bond said: ‘Our officers will continue to maintain a strong, visible presence around Clapham and we will respond robustly to any reports of disorder, thefts or planned meet-ups.
‘I’d urge those young people who think this is just a bit of fun to carefully consider the consequences. Events like this, fuelled by online trends and viral content on platforms such as TikTok, can quickly escalate and lead to serious outcomes.
‘If you join in or cause further disorder, you should expect to be arrested and risk a criminal record, which can have long-lasting consequences for your future, including employment opportunities and potentially your ability to travel.
‘There is widespread CCTV coverage on streets and in businesses in the area and we’re already reviewing that footage, as well as officers’ bodyworn video cameras, to identify those who committed offences on Saturday and last night.
‘The parents or guardians of those involved in last night’s disorder also have a role to play.
‘I’d appeal to them to take responsibility, to be proactive in knowing where their children are and who they’re with, and to take steps to make sure they’re not involved in this sort of unacceptable antisocial behaviour.’
The Clapham riot raged on into Tuesday evening with scores of teenagers facing off with police
Clips circulating on social media saw crowds of children tearing through the neighbourhood
A mob of teenagers took over a Marks and Spencer food hall in Clapham on March 28
Last Friday, youths gathered in Birmingham city centre where they also ran through the streets
On Tuesday, three girls, one aged 17 and two aged 13, were arrested on suspicion of assaulting an emergency worker, while on Saturday March 28 two 16-year-old girls and one aged 15 were arrested on suspicion of shoplifting and assault.
Similar scenes were seen in Birmingham city centre last Friday after schools there broke up for the Easter holidays.
A West Midlands Police spokesman said: ‘We’re aware that Birmingham city centre often sees an influx of school children on the day schools break up for half-term.
‘Last Friday, a handful of people were arrested for public order offences and dealt with accordingly.
‘Local officers worked closely with the local community, Bullring and local partners to reduce further disruption and disperse the crowd.’
PC Kyriacou, who works in the Central South Local Neighbourhoods team, has been using basketball for years to build trust and rapport with teenagers.
He is popular with local young people in the community and knows many of them on a first name basis through his work in schools.
After the disorder had ended and the officers were waiting for relief, one of the young men who had been playing at the courts and had not been involved in any of the rioting asked PC Kyriacou to go over and hold the ball for an ‘alleyoop’ play.
This is an offensive play in basketball where one player holds or lobs the ball near the rim for a teammate to catch in mid-air and immediately dunk.
