Police used extra powers to disperse a crowd of around 200 youths that gathered in Sutton town centre for an event publicised on TikTok.
The crowd is believed to have gathered at around 4pm yesterday (January 22) to witness a ‘blind date’ event by a popular influencer on TikTok.
Videos from the event show officers tussling with a large crowd of schoolchildren in High Street.
Croydon-based influencer with the username BusyTV put out a public call on his channel to meet outside St Nicholas Shopping Centre.
He promised the latest in a series of ‘blind dates’, where a couple are set up on a public blind date.
Crowds gather to watch as the couple are asked questions about their dating preferences while blindfolded.
The blindfold is then removed, after the couple are told they should run away if they do not like the other person.
By the time the Sutton event was scheduled to begin at 4pm, videos show a large group had already gathered.
The group was reported to the police soon after.
@tanariskit1 icl i’m suing them bro strangled me#CapCut #BusyTV #viral #sutton #fyp ♬ Pep Rally - PROTECT
Officers arrived and while some videos show officers smiling at the event, it later broke into disarray around 45 minutes later as they “responded to a disturbance within the crowd”.
No injuries were reported and no arrests were made.
A section 35 dispersal order was put in place “to prevent any further disturbances”.
The order is a temporary measure that allows police officers to direct individuals to leave a specified area and not return for up to 48 hours.
A Met Police spokesperson said: “Police were made aware at around 16:04hrs on Thursday, 22 January of a large gathering, involving around 200 young people.
“Officers attended and at around 16:42hrs, responded to a disturbance within the crowd. No injuries were reported and no arrests were made.
“A Section 35 dispersal order was put in place to prevent any further disturbances.”
It is not the first time that an event publicised on TikTok has led to police action.
Last summer, Tiktoker and rapper TZ Da Ceo promised free chicken to those who came to a Bexleyheath branch of Morley’s at a specified time..
In a video filmed outside the Morley’s, the influencer posed with shop staff promising “free chicken and chips to all the schoolchildren”.
But the event was cancelled after Met Police officers were granted a section 35 dispersal order for the area.
A message sent to a local mother by her daughter's school warned about the event.
It read: “While this may appear to be a harmless or fun event, gatherings of this nature can quickly become unsafe and disruptive.”
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