Crystal Palace Football Club is giving more than a thousand free tickets to families affected by the riots.

More than 200 homes and a number of businesses were destroyed or severely damaged by the vandalism that took place last week.

As a gesture to those affected the club will be giving away tickets for the Palace v Blackpool match on the 27th August to those in the local community who have had to overcome the recent problems.

The police, fire and ambulance services will also receive tickets as a thank you for the support that they gave the community during the recent trouble.

A spokesman for Crystal Palace FC said: “The club realise that this is only a small gesture in the scheme of things, but want to do our part to help in our own small way.”