A couple who filmed a scooter driver being dragged from his vehicle before it is stolen by rioters has described how their own flat was set on fire just minutes later.
Marko Silla and his girlfriend Mailis Andreson were forced to flee their home during the riots in Croydon on August 8 after witnessing the attack on the motorcyclist.
Mr Silla said the numbers of rioters on the street increased rapidly after the scooter was stolen: "Everything happened so fast. We saw two or three houses start to burn and there was a lot of smoke.
"We started to worry. We were really scared.
"The people opposite were shouting for us to come out and by the time we got out our flat was on fire."
The IT worker said he was only able to grab his mobile phone, keys, wallet and laptop before escaping the blaze.
He says he and his housemates lost many of their personal belongings including, televisions, speakers, CDs and photos.
The couple have been staying at the hotel where Ms Andreson works but have decided to leave the country and return to Estonia following the incident.
Just moments before they were forced from their home the couple shot footage of a scooter rider being assaulted and having his vehicle stolen.
The rider is seen trying to make his way along the road through the gathering crowd.
He is then set upon by a gang of around six people.
One drags him by the head from his scooter to the floor. An accomplice then drags the victim away from his vehicle before a third man rides the scooter away.
The thief is then shown just a few metres down the road after falling off the scooter.
He then jumps back onto the vehicle and drives it in the opposite direction and back into the crowd.
The incident happened during the disturbances on August 8, the night in which rioters caused widespread damage to the area, including setting fire to a furniture store.
:: Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
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