Riots: 'Vigilantes' in Enfield and Southall

Certainly, other than a broken window at a bakery on Southall Broadway, Anita Anand and I saw no sign of the violence and robbery that's been sweeping across England. Indeed, Enfield itself had been one of the very first neighbourhoods to suffer.

Clearly, the combination of a huge police presence and locals determined to protect their homes and businesses was working in London last night. Other than (relatively) minor disturbances, the city was quiet.

As the sun set, we headed to Enfield. It was an educated guess. There were no reports of any significant trouble anywhere, and we'd heard rumours of 'racist vigilantes' in that area. Of course, we were sceptical, but given the previous trouble there, we thought it was worth taking a look, and at the very least, laying social media speculation to rest.

From what we saw and heard, they were not racist, nor were they necessarily vigilantes. We interviewed a black teenager, Tyrell, who'd been part of the patrol and told us it was about locals - of all races, ages and genders - looking after themselves and giving police a hand, rather than looking for trouble.

At midnight in Southall, we met groups of Sikhs in the streets around their gurdwara (temple). They told us the same thing, that alongside Muslims and others, they were just interested in making sure their area remained safe.

Both Anita and I are Londoners, of Indian origin. We were moved by this show of unity in Southall, and heartened to finally see a side of the city that we know exists.

Big questions remain. What will happen when there are no longer 16,000 police officers on London's streets? Today, the Metropolitan Police's Deputy Assistant Commissioner Stephen Kavanagh said there was "no place for vigilantism" in London, so will they stay at home tonight? What would you do?

Hasit Shah is a senior producer at 5 live. You can follow him on Twitter