Post-riot London looks like the Blitz!

LONDON, England - August 7, 2011 - Police in London arrested dozens of people on Sunday after 26 officers were injured in the city's worst riots in years.

Rioters in Tottenham, North London, torched vehicles and buildings and looted shops in response to the fatal shooting of a local man by police.

Scotland Yard said 42 people were arrested for the violence, which sparked condemnation from Prime Minister David Cameron's office.

"The rioting in Tottenham last night was utterly unacceptable," a Downing Street spokesman said in a statement. "There is no justification for the aggression the police and the public faced, or for the damage to property. There is now a police investigation into the rioting and we should let that process happen."

Police said they were still dealing with "isolated pockets of criminality in the Tottenham area involving a small number of people."

The mayhem, which broke out in Tottenham just before sunset on Saturday, followed a protest over the death of a 29-year-old man on Thursday during an apparent exchange of gunfire with police.

The demonstration had been a peaceful rally outside the police station on Tottenham High Road before two police cars were attacked with petrol bombs and set ablaze.

A public double-decker bus was then torched as the violence spread rapidly, with gangs of hooded youths descending on the area.

The situation raged out of control as hundreds ran amok, setting shops and other vehicles on fire.

There was concern that the unrest was fueled by rapid posts on social media inciting others to participate.

Central London has seen student and trade union protests turn ugly in the last 12 months but this outbreak of rioting is the worst seen in the suburbs in years.

Under a hail of missiles and petrol bombs, riot officers and mounted police battled to regain control of the streets and escort fire crews safely through to tackle the series of blazes.

Rioters kicked in windows as shops were looted, with people pushing away shopping trolleys filled with stolen goods.

One eyewitness said the scene resembled the Blitz, or when parts of London burned following German bombing in World War II.