LONDON, Aug 8: Riots spread to new areas of London on Monday in a third night of violence as hooded youths torched cars and buildings, hurled missiles at police and looted shops, in the worst unrest in the British capital for decades.

Police were out in force, but struggled to stop disturbances spreading to Hackney in east London, close to the site of next year's Olympics games, and Peckham and Lewisham in south London.

Flames leaped into the air from a building in Peckham and cars were set on fire in several areas of London as gangs of youths roamed the streets.

The disturbances started late on Saturday in London's northern Tottenham district when a peaceful protest over the police's shooting of a suspect turned violent, leaving parts of the high street charred and its shops looted.

Home Secretary Theresa May, who cut short her holiday, said arrests had climbed to 215 and 27 people had been charged.

“The violence we've seen, the looting we've seen, the thuggery we've seen, this is sheer criminality ... These people will be brought to justice. They will be made to face the consequences of their actions,” she said.

The mayhem has so far been centred mainly in multi-ethnic, poorer parts of London, only a few miles from the Olympic park that will welcome millions of visitors in less than a year.

A Reuters witness described chaotic scenes in Hackney in which at least one vehicle had been set alight, as well as many rubbish bins.

Youths threw what appeared to be fireworks at the police, while officers in formation sporadically charged the youths to try and disperse the crowd. At the confrontation in Hackney continued, violence flared in the south London areas of Lewisham and Peckham, with many using the micro-blogging website Twitter to post links to pictures of youths smashing shop windows.