Will describes events in quiet, rural Henfield.

In less affluent Seaford, things took an uglier turn. Hordes of pensioners, maddened by an unusually pure batch of black market Ovaltine, pulled surgical stockings over their faces and rioted through Superdrug, stripping the shelves of Benylin, Algipan, Rennies and Gaviscon. Enraged that they could not break into nearby Boots, they filled its door locks with denture fixative instead. Plugs of earwax burned fiercely. The air was filled with the shrill whine of overloaded defibrillators and the sickening crack of zimmer on zimmer as old bridge club scores were settled, in some cases terminally. Packets of corn plasters were ripped open and their contents scattered like confetti. The police watched from a safe distance (Eastbourne).

Eventually the mob fled, jangling with looted copper and magnetic jewellery, leaving a trail of corn plasters, Werthers Originals and empty ultra-strength Senokot packets. A police spokesmen said later, 'They are on the run now but they won't get far. Make no mistake, the police won't be just going through the motions.'