By GB News (World News) | Created at 2026-10-06 01:45:59 | Updated at 2026-10-06 02:35:58
2 hours ago
Police have implemented a dispersal order in East London after concerning social media posts targeting schoolchildren.
The Metropolitan Police authorised a Section 35 Dispersal Order covering Woolwich, east London.
A dispersal order gives Met Police officers the power to order an individual to leave an area for a limited time.
The order followed "viral social media posts" suggesting schoolchildren raid Tesco stores in Woolwich after school on Monday.
Inspector Adrian Engelbrecht said the order was "primarily a preventative measure" in a statement.
Parents at several Greenwich area schools received messages warning of the plans.
"We have been made aware of a post on TikTok that is encouraging school children from a variety of Greenwich schools to meet in Woolwich Town Centre this afternoon to 'raid Tesco' and perform other antisocial behaviour," one message read.
"This post looks like the 'Red vs Blue' posts we endured last year."
Pupils were urged to raid a Tesco in Woolwich in a viral social media post
Details of the plans, seen on social media, instructs pupils to first meet in Woolwich Square.
School children would first head to McDonald's, then Tesco before returning home.
GB News has not verified images of the plans.
A separate message, posted by a parent and said to be from their children's secondary school, warned that social media posts were "circulating within the wider community".
The posts are reportedly similar to the 'Red vs Blue' trend from earlier this year
Students were advised by their "form tutor and pastoral teams" to return home immediately after school and not share the social media message, which the school said may be considered incitement.
The dispersal order and seemingly AI-generated messages encouraging violence are similar to a series of posts which circulated earlier this year throughout schools in London.
One image from last year's wave of posts encouraged children as young as 13 to participate in a "Hackney War" on the streets, adding that metal combs, rulers, and compasses were eligible weapons.
Another post featured a scoring system which granted children 20 points if they "punch up an opp" and 10 points if they "chase an opp", with an additional 10 bonus points if the violence was recorded.
The Met shared the above image, highlighting the Section 35 dispersal order area
MET POLICE
The posts often featured gang-inspired imagery such as balaclavas and coloured bandanas.
Concerns around the posts prompted the Met to launch "Operation Cedarfield" to monitor the posts, and Wes Streeting, now Defence Secretary, said at the time he had "raised this at the highest levels in Government".
But no violent incidents were reported as a result of the posts, the BBC said, citing sources at the Met.
The Woolwich dispersal order was in place throughout the afternoon until midnight.
