The security guard on the frontline of London’s crime epidemic

A security guard on the frontline of London’s crime epidemic was on the scene to tackle an aggressive mob at a Swatch store before being called in to stop teen yobs shoplifting at JD Sports just 48 hours later.

Rampant disorder gripped the capital over the weekend as separate groups caused chaos at different ends of the city.

Violent scenes erupted at Swatch stores in Battersea, White City and the West End after the launch of the brand’s pocket watch collaboration with luxury designer Audemars Piguet – sparking overnight queues, mass crowd surges and police interventions. 

Footage shared on social media appeared to show crowds barging past barriers outside the Swatch shop at Battersea Power Station on Saturday morning, preventing the store from opening.

Hours later, a horde of hooded youths wearing balaclavas descended on the JD Sports on Ilford High Road, grabbing armfuls of their chosen items.

The group of around nine boys cleared out entire racks of clothing before sprinting up the escalators but were confronted by brave shop staff who clawed back some of the goods.

This is not the end of Lawless London’s latest dark turn, as thieves appear to be planning more raids on the popular clothing store in the days to come with TikTok posts offering advice on how to ‘stain [rob] JD Sports’.

Security guard Awan was at the centre of both debacles, fending off the Swatch gang before heading east to stop the teen groups terrorising Ilford’s shopping hubs.

JD Sports staff try to stop the youths as they sprint up the escalators with armfuls of clothes. It was one of several lawless incidents in London within the space of a few years

Violent scenes break out at the Swatch store in Battersea as a new watch launch prompted overnight queues, mass crowd surges and police interventions

The security staff heaped praise on JD Sports workers who tackled the brazen shoplifters, salvaging several items of clothing.

But he warned that, in this current climate, have-a-go-heroes need to be cautious before intervening to stop crime.

Speaking from his sentry role outside the store on a sleepy Monday afternoon, Awan said: ‘I didn’t know about this until this morning. You should see the video online.

‘All the people working at JD Sports on Saturday, it’s really brave of them.

‘You have to be careful [when confronting criminals these days].’ 

Female shopworkers were praised for turning ‘full action hero’ after they took on the thieves who raided the store. 

Footage captured the rogue shoplifters spreading out across the lower ground floor of the store, and in between heavy clothes rails.

The group of around nine youngsters rushed to the escalators, clutching goods in their hands, but the loyal JD Sports team of young women was not far behind – attempting to stop the youths by yanking stolen items.

Barging past, some of the boys then fell over each other as they ran up the side of the escalator, which was going in the opposite direction.

The teenage workers saved some of the clothes, but the boys seemingly got away.

When the Daily Mail visited the shop two days later, staff suggested their heroic colleagues would be reluctant to chat about their role in stopping the shoplifters because they did not want anyone finding out they had intervened. 

Word of the raid quickly spread around the high street, with anxious shopkeepers concerned about a repeat of the brazen attack.

A staff member at next-door Mighty Pound said: ‘I saw some people running out on that side.

Footage captured the rogue shoplifters spreading out across the lower ground floor of the store, and in between heavy clothes rails before grabbing hoodies and tracksuits 

Shopkeepers have been praised for intervening and grabbing some clothes back – but security guard Awan, who has been at Swatch and JD Sports in recent days, urged caution

It seems gangs are planning another raid on JD Sports with a series of social media posts calling on sportswear-mad youngsters to action

Another post on the social media site advertises tips for robbing retail shops. It went on to advise thugs to ‘keep one person near the exit’ and study the store’s layout beforehand

‘I was like, “who are these people?” It was three or four kids running. Teenagers. They were carrying some things.

‘I don’t know where they went, but I saw them running along there.’ 

Another local, running a street food stall near JD Sports, said: ‘We heard the story from stores and locals. 

‘We didn’t see it, but we came in today and people said they had seen something going on. Someone stealing things.’

Just hours earlier, chaos broke out in other parts of the city as youths jostled to get hold of the new Swatch/Audemars Piguet pocket watch. 

And Awan, something of a first-hand witness to London’s raging crime epidemic, says the videos of yobs raiding JD Sports paled in comparison to what he saw outside the designer store in Battersea. 

‘That was way worse than this thing,’ he said. ‘There were around 2,000 people who came in the morning at 7am and the store was supposed to open at 10am. 

‘It was [mad] in Battersea. People were pushing each other. 

‘The limited edition watch was launching on Saturday, but on the Friday night they allowed tents inside Battersea Power Station. 

‘Two-hundred people camped in there all night. In the morning, when they opened up, thousands of people rushed in again, wanting to get into the store.’

When Awan arrived for his shift, a restless atmosphere was brewing among the masses queuing for the hottest new watch, which is available for £335 – far cheaper than Audemars Piguet’s standard models which retail anywhere between £25,000 and £150,000.

He said: ‘I was supposed to start at 8am and I couldn’t get in. People were pushing. 

‘My manager decided not to open the store and then we called the police and then we moved the people.

‘They still haven’t started selling the watch yet. It’s mad.’

Awan might have his work cut out once again in the coming days with reports of gangs of yobs plotting another attack on JD Sports via a string of social media posts calling on sportswear-obsessed youngsters to join forces.

One TikTok clip zooms in on a hoodie from the store, first as it sits on a hanger on the shelf before showing it being carried down the street – with the hanger still on.

The caption reads, ‘need some hitters for JDs North/west based’ – seemingly a call to action ahead of a potential raid.

A separate slide adds, ‘slow feet don’t eat,’ a motivational phrase popular on the platform.

Another post on the social media site advertises ‘tips for staining [robbing] a JD/any other store’ next to a similar photo. 

A further caption reads: ‘Tips for licking [robbing] any store. JD raids are coming back.’

The account then reveals shoplifting advice overlaid on photos of security tags and JD Sports bags.

The tips include: ‘Keep at least one person at the exit – they’ll tell you if they try locking the doors’; ‘numbers are important: go with minimum 3+ man: be fast and ballid [wearing a balaclava] up at all times if you’re going in a large group.’

The post adds: ‘Know the layout of your area before you raid it: get out of there as soon as possible and head to the next’; ‘by any means necessary: any workers/security or Alz at Brent Cross JD try get technical use any force required to get away your safety over anyone else’s.’

Comments on such posts encourage further criminal activity including one which reads: ‘Good lads it’s time to take back keep it up go in groups.’

TikTok told the Daily Mail it had since banned one account and removed content violating its ‘Criminal Behaviour policy’.

A spokesman added: ‘Per our Community Guidelines, we don’t allow promotion of crime, or instructions on how to commit harmful acts.

‘Between October-December 2025, of the content we removed for violating our policies on Violent and Criminal Behaviour, 97.1 per cent was taken down before it was reported to us.’

Limited edition Swatch/Audemars Piguet pocket watches are on sale for £335. The watch is already being pre-sold on websites such as eBay for quadruple the price 

Swatch later announced all stores in London as well as those in Liverpool, Birmingham, Sheffield and Glasgow would not open on Saturday

A Met spokesperson said: ‘Police were called at 17.17hrs on Saturday, 16 May following reports of a large group of young men shoplifting from a store on Ilford High Road.

‘Officers conducted an extensive area search and enquiries remain ongoing. No arrests have been made at this time.

‘Shoplifting remains a key priority for the Met, and we recognise how distressing these incidents are for retailers and staff. 

‘In Ilford, theft offences have dropped by more than 10 per cent in the last year as officers work hard to drive down neighbourhood crime.’

The Daily Mail has approached JD Sports for comment.