Stokes Croft - The Stokes Croft Tesco Riot, April 2011

The Stokes Croft Tesco Riot, April 2011

Despite a long campaign against the opening of a new 'Tesco Express' store at 138-142 Cheltenham Road spearheaded by the group, 'No Tesco In Stokes Croft', the new store opened on 15 April 2011. Tesco were well aware that the store was likely to be the focus of protests and put in place additional security measures to defend it.

Various protests took place outside and inside the store during the seven days after its low-key opening. Although almost all were peaceful; such as attempts to use monopoly money to pay for goods, a small minority chose to throw paint and urinate on the shopfront.

On 21 April the police evicted squatters from a property opposite the store (known as 'Telepathic Heights'). This action led to a riot involving several people and lasting for much of the night, during which the shop-front of the Tesco Store was damaged and some looting took place. Further confrontations between police and protesters occurred in the early hours of 29 April.