Nearly 1,000 shops were hit by the rioting earlier this month, according to a snapshot survey by the British Retail Consortium (BRC).

According to a BRC email survey of its members, carried out in the week starting Monday 15 August, a total of 899 stores were affected by the disturbances.

These included 102 thefts, seven arson attacks and 61 burglaries. In addition, 187 stores were damaged..

In addition, the stores surveyed lost a total of 7,599 trading hours and more than 11,000 members of their staff were affected by the violence.

The BRC said that the true figure for the number of shops affected by the rioting would be "considerably higher", given that the firms replying to the survey represent 27% of the UK retail sector by total sales.

BRC director of business Tom Ironside said: “As damaged buildings are repaired and streets return to normal, shop owners and their staff also need their confidence rebuilt. A strong message must go out that the retail sector, and those who work in it, will be protected.”

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