Staff at a London store were left reeling last week when 200 schoolchildren burst into the shop on a shoplifting spree.

Tony Ayodele, who runs Budgens in Waltham Forest, was shocked to see pupils wearing nearby Higham Park School uniforms charge into his store, knocking over stands and stealing stock from the shelves.

"Usually a few of them come in on their way home from school, but this was different," said Tony. "There were hundreds outside and they all ran into the store, grabbing chocolate and throwing food at each other. We didn't have as many staff on that day

so the best we could do was shout at them."

Tony called the police, but by the time they arrived the pupils were gone. He said: "The police watched the CCTV footage and brought it to the school where a few of them were recognised by the principal."

Tony didn't press charges as no one was hurt, but has banned schoolchildren from entering in the store in groups.

Earlier that day, a crowd of pupils from the school did the same thing in a nearby Costcutter, leading Tony to believe their actions weren't decided on the spur of the moment. "They had both of these events planned out in advance," he said.