Court Hears How Teen Rioter Robbed Diners

A court heard today how a teenage rioter, accused of being part of a mob of masked looters, smashed his way into one of London's top restaurants and robbed terrified diners during last summer's riots.

19-year-old Ali Abdul-Waga, was part of a group which stormed the two Michelin-starred Ledbury restaurant in Notting Hill, west London, forcing customers onto the floor and demanding they hand over jewellery and mobile phones, it was alleged.

A jury at Inner London crown court was told how the attack was part of a "campaign of disorder", in which a moped was burned, passengers forced off two buses and searched for valuables, a shopkeeper was assaulted and a taxi driver robbed of his mobile.

Staff at the Ledbury tried to bolt the door and barricade themselves in but a group forced their way inside on 8 August last year. CCTV footage showed staff trying to defend customers with kitchen tools as the gang, some armed with baseball bats and bottles, ransacked the dining room.

Abdul-Waga, of Paddington, west London, denies two counts of robbery including robbing staff and customers at the Ledbury, one of violent disorder and conspiracy to commit burglary.

Three co-defendants Nasir Muhsen, 18, of Willesden Green, north-west London, Dean Burke, 19, of Paddington, west London, and Caleb Williams, 22, of no fixed address, are not charged with robbing the Ledbury but face charges of conspiracy to commit violent disorder and burglary, which they deny.

The trial, which is expected to last five weeks, continues.

(H)