The riots erupted first at Tottenham during the weekend spread across London on Sunday night with reports of trouble in multiple boroughs.

Enfield, Brixton, Walthamstow and Islington saw violence in what police called "copycat criminal activity," and more than 100 people have been arrested in connection with the new wave of violence.

"This is a challenging situation with small pockets of violence, looting and disorder breaking out on a number of boroughs," police officer Christine Jones said.

The police confirmed "small and mobile" groups looted shops, and masked individuals damaged buildings in Walthamstow in East London.

Riot police clashed with looters at a shop in Brixton, South London, and firefighters were called to a fire at a store nearby.

Local media reported that numerous people were seen carrying away looted goods, including boxed widescreen television sets, and buses travelling on Brixton High Street were not stopping.

However, despite the sporadic outbreaks of violence, it was nowhere near the scale of the riots in Tottenham on Saturday, a result of community anger over a fatal police shooting of a 29-year-old father of four.