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Published: 11 August 2011​

Three of our journalists – Richard Osley, Tom Foot and Dan Carrier – provided exclusive coverage of what was happening from their mobile phones. Crucially, they stuck to reporting what they saw first-hand in a bid to tackle unfounded rumours about trouble elsewhere. 
 

Using Twitter to keep people informed and discreet cameras, the reporting team was in Chalk Farm Road as police charged rioters – and the rioters stormed back. 
 

Wine bottles flew past the team’s heads during the most hairy moments on Monday night. One photo of police at the scene taken by Tom Foot was seen by 20,000 people online within the space of a couple of hours.
 

Logging on, residents and businesses checked the feed to see where the disturbances were and to even check whether their shops had been broken into.

We conducted interviews with people following what was happening to provide the most up-to-date and accurate information possible.

Where the national newspapers and TV channels were slow, our readers got the information as it happened.

When businesses met on Tuesday, our reporting was singled out as the best source of accurate information during one of Camden’s darkest nights of trouble.
 

Sunday Times columnist India Knight said: “Your lot were amazing – shining examples of local news.”
 

Others to follow included former Blur guitarist Graham Coxon and Camden Town venue owner Alex Proud, who later tweeted that he had boasted about the paper’s performance to friends.
 

For our part, the New Journal would like to thank the scores of readers who sent messages urging our journalists to “stay safe” while reporting. Remarkably, when one phone ran out of power, dozens of readers – who reporters had never met before – offered to supply a charger.
 

• You can follow the New Journal on Twitter at @newjournal
or our reporters Richard Osley @richardosley, Tom Foot @tomfoot1 and Dan Carrier @dannycarrier.