Tweets from the front line.

Twitter. It's a pretty dividing concept. You've got one group, the Tweeters themselves, who see it as a way to speak to the world. Whether it's to network, promote, or just to get something off your chest - you can guarantee that somebody, somewhere will be listening. Then there are those who see it as nothing more than egotism. Bragging in 140 characters or less. But last night, Twitter stepped up. All over the country, people were doing their best to report riot news in their area. As the night went on, and more of London was burned to the ground, I, for one, couldn't leave my Twitter unattended. It seemed that it was the quickest way to find out exactly what was happening, with real people reporting fresh bouts of violence before any news organisation even got wind of them. And now the same social networks that have been blamed for this pointless violence are becoming the very platform for it's clean up. In the wake of all this destruction, there are some embers of hope. Maybe there is more good than bad in the country.

Here is just a snippet of what Britain had to say last night:


@BrianMcHarg: fill the water cannons with pink dye, spray the rioters en masse each night, round up the pink folk the following day. simples. #londonriots

@Mattedmondson: My best mate, Tom, is a police man. He's barely slept for days and is out there now fighting this. It's all so unnecessary. #londonriots

@fleetstreetfox: Dear police and fire people on the streets tonight: from the rest of us, thank you. #Londonriots

@cripesonfriday: Can they stop calling it unrest, sleeping on a sofabed in a draft with a lumpy pillow is unrest.

@clarkville: The fire brigade are, as always, true fucking heroes!

@DavidAllenGreen: I think we should have another royal wedding. That will do the trick. Harry and Pippa, your country needs you...

@swanidotcom: The Youth of the Middle East rise up for basic freedom. The Youth of London rise up 4 HD ready 42" Plasma TV #Londonriots

@SamAtRedmag: poor local shopkeepers who've worked their whole lives & are now watching it go up in smoke. No-one will help them rebuild #londonriots

@GarethAveyard:How embarrassing to be human.

@keirshiels:Moral of the week: Must heed warnings of The Kaiser Chiefs.

@sueperkins: Dear Dave, fancy putting that Peroni and focaccia down and getting THE FUCK back to the country you apparently run?

@MrsLRCooper: How come Cameron cut short a work trip to Africa to deal with Murdoch but won't cut short his holiday to deal with this crisis. #perspective

@Divine_Miss_Em: This is simply awesome PR for the Olympics..

@GasolineShorts: My friend is currently cowering in her flat above shops in Hackney with her three month old baby. Anyone who thinks this is fun is a twat.

@gracedent: that's not sticking it to the police. it's just fucking over the person who's sold you milk every day for years.

@paulkingsnorth: When you blame looting and burning on 'poverty' you insult everyone poor who has an ethical backbone and knows how to use it. #londonriots

@itisTwin:London..... We're better than this man....

@caitlinmoran:I notice no-one has made a joke in my timeline in the last two hours. I have never seen this before.