As Croydon unites to restore the town following a night of shameless violence, one serving police officer’s heartfelt words sum up the feeling of thousands of decent residents...

I am a police officer. I have lived in Croydon all my life. I have worked in Croydon for the past five years and I grew up around Croydon.

I am proud to work in this borough and live here, but all that changed for a while during the rioting last week.

I no longer felt proud of Croydon, I was ashamed of what went on, the mindless violence, the mass looting and the disgraceful destruction of local businesses including the atrocity at Reeves Corner, which people will remember forever.

I could not believe the people of Croydon could stoop so low and cause millions of pounds-worth of damage to their shops, the shops they go to daily.

But I have had a change of heart, I have been patted on the back; members of the public have shook hands and boxes of tea/coffee/food have arrived at the police stations in the borough.

Offers of tea and sandwiches have been made and the police thanked for the great job they are doing.

I have personally worked more than 100 hours this week, executing warrants across the borough, arresting those involved and recovering millions of pounds-worth of property.

Once again I feel proud to belong to Croydon. Croydon will rise up again and with public support we can stop this sort of thing ever happening again.

Be proud to be part of Croydon – I am.

Police Constable ZD