Worried shoppers have revealed how TikTok-inspired looting has left them nervous on Oxford Street – as experts blame rising crime, Covid and online shopping for the shocking demise of London’s famous shopping district.
Once dubbed ‘the jewel in London’s shopping crown’, experts say that Oxford Street has fallen behind Regent Street and Carnaby Street and without police intervention, it will be reduced to empty shop fronts – something already being seen.
Retail experts told MailOnline that a rise in anti-social behaviour has no doubt had a devastating impact on businesses day and night.
The chaos in central London this week echoes robberies and flashmob looting across the US in recent years, which has been organised through TikTok – while major cities such as San Francisco and New York are becoming crime-ravaged and drug-infested.
And only last week harrowing images showed the extent of the homelessness crisis surrounding the popular shopping destination, with large numbers of people lying on makeshift mattresses.
It comes amid a battle to save Oxford Street, which is one of the biggest victims of the slow death of the High Street across Britain. It has been overrun in recent years by tacky sweet shops that have replaced household names.
Aurora Wei, a 24-year-old post-graduate from Southampton visiting London for the first time, told MailOnline on Oxford Street today: ‘To be honest I don’t feel safe here which is why I gather my bags close to me. I heard that there’s a lot of thieves these days.