A 33-year-old man charged with starting the fire at the House of Reeves furniture store is due to appear at Croydon Magistrates' court this morning.


Gordon Edward Thompson, of Waddon Road, Croydon, was charged yesterday with both arson and arson with intent to endanger life, as well as two counts of burglary and one count of violent disorder in Croydon Town Centre.

All alleged offences took place during the rioting on Monday, August 8, when the House of Reeves store was destroyed in a huge blaze. The family-run business had traded from the site for more than 100 years.

The police have also arrested three others in connection with the incident - a 21-year-old man and 15-year-old boy who were both bailed pending further enquiries, and a 25-year-old man who was released with no further action.

To date, the Metropolitan Police have arrested 1,580 people in connection with violence, disorder and looting in London. A total of 923 of those arrested have been charged.

Meanwhile, a dedicated webpage has gone live displaying the images of people the police want to speak to, with a Flickr page also showing the images to give the public as many opportunities as possible to help identify those involved.

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