Ambulance taken off road and Ikea stormed as fans ‘celebrate’
ENGLAND fans “celebrated” the nation’s World Cup quarter final victory over Sweden by smashing up an ambulance and storming an Ikea store.
Jubilant supporters rejoiced in the streets across the country on Saturday to mark England’s best tournament performance for 28 years.
Footage and pictures shared on social media showed people climbing lampposts and on top of vehicles following the result, with some police forces recording the highest amount of emergency calls ever in one day.
In London, one man scaled a double decker bus outside Clapham Junction station before he was filmed jumping on to a bus shelter roof and falling
through it. In Borough, an ambulance was taken out of service after its bonnet and windscreen were damaged by people climbing on it.
London Ambulance Service tweeted: “We’re delighted with the result, but this has put a big dampener on the celebrations for us: while our officer attended a call nearby, this car was damaged in Borough High Street during the celebrations after the game – it’s now off the road to be repaired.”
A Met Police spokesman said detectives were investigating, but no arrests had been made.
The spokesman said the force was not aware of other “significant” incidents following the match.
Rowdy fans also stormed an Ikea store in Stratford, east London, where
they jumped on furniture while singing “Football’s Coming Home”.
An Ikea spokesman tweeted: “We are aware of a small group of fans celebrating the result in one of our stores.
“Being both British and Swedish, we were on the edge of our seats and would like to say ‘Grattis!’ (congratulations in Swedish) to the England team.”
Thousands of 999 calls were taken across the West Midlands, which police confirmed was a record number. The force tweeted: “Yesterday we took the highest ever volume of 999 calls in our history. 3,276 calls in just 24 hours. It’s a mix of the sun, World Cup and alcohol. If it’s not an emergency, don’t call 999.”
Asst Chief Constable Terry Woods of Lancashire Police said the force had dealt with 2,200 calls in 24 hours.