EIGHT police officers are being treated in hospital following riots which broke out two days after a man was shot dead by police.

Scotland Yard said at least one of the officers had suffered head injuries after protesters clashed with police in Tottenham, north London.

Trouble flared after members of the community earlier took to the streets in a peaceful protest to demand "justice", after Mark Duggan, 29, was shot dead by police on Thursday.

Violence later erupted as buildings and vehicles were set alight, including two patrol cars, a police van and a double-decker bus, and shops looted as police in riot gear arrived on the scene.

Hundreds of people gathered in the street, including mounted police, as smoke poured into the air from the lighted bus. Fire engines descended on the area and thunderflashes were thrown at police on horseback.

After sections of Tottenham High Road were cleared of rioters, "pockets of trouble" continued to flare in nearby areas, a Scotland Yard spokesman said.

Two vans were reported to have been set ablaze in nearby Rheola Close, and Sky News said that its reporter and cameraman had to withdraw from the area over safety fears.

There were also reports of looting in Tottenham Hale Retail Park with hooded youths seen walking out of the centre carrying televisions and other goods on shopping trolleys.

A spokeswoman for London Ambulance Service said paramedics had treated 10 people, and nine were taken to hospital.

The violence erupted after around 120 people marched from the local Broadwater Farm area to Tottenham police station, forcing officers to close the High Road and put traffic diversions in place.

A local woman, who declined to give her name, said: "There's a theory going on that the man who was shot had dropped his gun, but they still shot him. I'm hearing that most of the shops in the High Road are being burgled and robbed."

Local MP David Lammy appealed for calm, saying in a statement on his website: " We already have one grieving family in our community and further violence will not heal that pain. True justice can only follow a thorough investigation of the facts."

A spokesman for the Mayor of London Boris Johnson said: "Where there are real concerns in the community it is right that there is a proper investigation. The incident which led to the violent scenes in Tottenham this evening are the subject of an IPCC inquiry.

"Violence and destruction of property will do nothing to facilitate this investigation and we urge those involved to respect the rule of law."

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