A 43-year-old man has been arrested after a violent brawl involving men armed with bats erupted outside a Smyths toy shop in Bermondsey, south London, on Friday morning, with reports suggesting the group had been queuing for Pokémon cards.
Footage shared on X shows a group of hooded men swinging weapons at each other in the car park as horrified bystanders scream and shout. One man is seen falling to the ground amid the chaos, while another appears to land repeated blows on a victim before chasing him across the car park. The man attempting to flee is grabbed by another attacker and thrown to the floor, before being kicked by two others. Passersby can be seen running towards the group in an attempt to break up the fight.
A Metropolitan Police spokesperson said: “Police were called at 08.54hrs on Friday, 12 June to a group of men fighting with bats on Old Kent Road, Southwark. Officers were at the scene within three minutes, where a 43-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of possession of an offensive weapon. He remains in custody. No injuries have been reported. Enquiries continue.” Anyone with information has been asked to call 101, quoting reference CAD 1752/12Jun.
The incident comes amid a surge in crime linked to the booming Pokémon card market. A Sun investigation found that more than £200,000 worth of Pokémon cards were stolen in raids across the UK in just two months. Nick Jarman, chief executive of the Certified Trading Card Association, said the sector had seen “a very large uptick” in thefts recently, with criminals becoming increasingly selective as they recognise the cards as “highly valuable, liquid assets.”
Pokémon, short for “pocket monsters,” began as a video game in 1996 before expanding into the trading card phenomenon that followed. It is now the world’s highest-grossing media franchise, having generated an estimated £84 billion over its lifetime — more than Barbie, Star Wars and Harry Potter combined. A report by Research and Markets estimated the global Pokémon card industry was worth £5.8 billion last year, with nostalgia, the pandemic and celebrity influencers cited as key drivers behind the soaring prices.
