Notting Hill residents call for carnival to be cancelled

Residents living around Notting Hill are urging the Prime Minister and the Home Secretary to call off this year's carnival because of the riots.

They fear next weekend's event will be a magnet for gangs to converge on the area for a repeat of the rioting and criminal behaviour seen last week.

The police and carnival organisers are to hold a series of meetings to discuss security arrangements.

The Met's acting Commissioner Tim Godwin has said he wants it to go ahead. A spokesman for London Notting Hill Carnival Ltd said it had received numerous enquiries about the possibility of cancelling this year's carnival in light of the riots.

It is understood the event will finish early this year with the parade of floats ending by 6.30pm and the static sound systems shut down by 7pm.

Sheila Robertson, a resident, said: "A lot of people want to see it done away with altogether. But personally I don't think it should be because it might make matters worse. Many local people just leave the area altogether and just hope that when they come back their homes are still there."