Riots have broken out across England as towns and villages end car boot sales for the winter.
Police have reported disturbances across the country as scores of car boot enthusiasts gathered to protest against the ‘premature and unnecessary termination of a popular event.’
Thrumpton, Nottinghamshire was described as a ‘bloodbath’ as protesters stormed a village
green usually set aside for their weekly car boot sale. One man was taken to hospital with a nose bleed that wouldn’t stop.
In Five Oaks, West Sussex a second-hand shop was broken into and a number of bric-a-brac items stolen, which were later found abandoned in a near-by field. And there were violent scenes in Cowslip Green, Somerset when a convoy of sellers with cars loaded with goods burst through a ribbon cordon and drove into a field where they attempted to hold an unscheduled car boot sale.
Chief Constable, Peter Metcalf said, ‘We are appealing for calm and urging buyers and sellers to stay away from unauthorised car boot sales.’
‘It’s a disgrace,’ said one rioter.
‘It’s only early October and the weather hasn’t been that bad. People eat each other and camp out for days for the winter sales and latest iPhone, so I think car booters can
brave slightly colder, crisper mornings. We’re a hardy lot.’
Rev. David Montague from Keep Our Boots Open Campaign said, ‘We are urging local governments to look at extending the season, or even running them throughout the winter, if conditions are suitable.’
