Cafe owner used baseball bat to warn off looters

THE proprietor of a café who used a baseball bat to warn off looters said he would "keep calm and carry on" as his business opened his morning.

Kazim Doleker defended Café Parisienne on Lavender Hill as rioters tore through Clapham Junction a week ago.

Today he thanked the local community for rallying round to keep spirits high after a week that has left many businesses shaken.

Mr Doleker, 42, who has run the café for 11 years, said: "People are making a special effort to buy from the local shops.

"This is a family business, people know if they come here they are making a difference.

"Independent shops will survive, absolutely, if the local community continue to help out, and they are. Lots of my customers dropped by to check on me and I want to thank them." Today he stood beside a fresh sign on a board outside his shop which read: "Keep calm and carry on, open, thank you".

Mr Doleker, who has one son, said local businesses were helping each other as much as possible.

He added: "I lost a night's sleep and I felt worried but I opened the day after, along with a handful of places along this road."

He gave police half a dozen cases of water and soft drinks when they arrived on the scene of the rioting last Monday night. The officers tried to pay, but he refused. He added: "We all must take responsibility for solving the problem - that is what a community does.

"Police arrived too late, yes, but now the important thing is to see the Government coming down strong on the kids who caused the damage.

"If they don't, it will happen again."