Seldom before in his life had Kiran Bhowan felt so frightened than when three youths, part of a gang of rioters, stormed into his shop in East London and kicking their way through the counter tried to steal cigarettes.
But the 50-year-old Indian shopkeeper, who runs a small family store in Newham, didn't lose his nerve and fought back with a cricket bat forcing them to flee empty-handed.
“It was frightening and I'm still shaking at the moment,'' he said recalling the moment.
It was not the first time during the week-long mayhem, as rioters took control of London's streets, that Mr. Bhowan's shop was attacked.
“I have had other incidents like this. Two boys came in before and sprayed a substance at me and tried to steal things but I fought with them and threw things,'' he said.
A few kilometres away in Hackney, Shiva Kandiah, had even a more devastating experience when rioters attacked his grocery store and set it on fire after looting goods worth more than £10,000 of goods.
The 39-year-old Sri Lankan was left with only 25 pence.
“Everything has gone, There's nothing left. All I have left is 25p,'' said Mr. Kandiah, who is married with two children.
Mr. Bhowan and Mr. Kandiah are among the many South Asian shop-owners who suffered in the riots that hit London and other British cities last week.
But there was no evidence that they were singled out because of their ethnicity. They were victims of random attacks that saw shops owned by other immigrant groups, including Poles, Turks, Kurds, being attacked. The worst-affected were white Britons themselves.
“These were not race riots. The rioters were simply interested in looting,'' said one Indian shopkeeper.
Police defended their handling of the riots and questioned Prime Minister David Cameron's criticism of their tactics. Acting Metropolitan Police Commissioner Tim Godwin said the criticism was coming from people “who weren't there”.
Sources in the Indian High Commission said the Indian cricket team had been provided the necessary security protection.
“We are in touch with the team and they are satisfied with the arrangements,'' they said.
