[Spoken Word]
The Hackney Boys were predominantly from the London Fields area
Although were close to other Hackney Boys on the Pembury and Mothers Square estates
It was not quite a borough wide gang but covered the E2/E5/E8 postcodes
Operation Trident unit put the start of the war down to the killing of Guydance Dacres, 16, who was shot dead in Chimes in January 1997
It occurred at a private party when Tottenham Mandem associate Anthony ‘Blue’ Bourne was alleged to have fired a gun at the club which hit and killed Dacres
However, the real ignition is believed by many to have been brought on earlier

In 1995, a couple of youths from Tottenham had been friendly with youths from London Fields and Pembury
They went out together robbing people, including young dealers, in other parts of north London
They also went on steaming robberies across shops
The Tottenham youths however started to come back to Hackney and rerob the Hackney youths which caused very serious grievances
One of the TMD youths stabbed a Hackney Boy from Pembury in the leg during one of the rerobberies
An act which led to a series of cyclical violence between the two areas

A couple of TMD youths were confronted by Hackney Boys following this
Which incidentally also came a month after the murder of Dacres
The TMD boys were chased but one youth, ‘Popcorn’ was cornered into a block of flats on the Carlton Lodge estate
A small estate around Carlton Road just north of Finsbury Park
He was beaten up and then shot dead in the presence of at least six members of the Hackney Boys
He bled to death on the roof of a block of flats

Popcorn was well known and well connected in the Tottenham area
One TMD youth, and later music artist Clint Ponton, helped convict the six suspects from Hackney having also been chased along with Popcorn
And whilst a single killer was not identified the suspects were all sentenced at the Old Bailey for between four and six years each
It was also alleged Ponton had arranged a deal with the seventh suspect who was found not guilty
The Hackney youths were largely from London Fields, whilst TMD where largely from Broadwater Farm
Although this conflict is often labelled Hackney versus Tottenham
It’s really more linked to those two estates within each borough
The series of killings and reprisals between the two areas really kicked off in the late 1990’s
The Hackney youths were largely from London Fields, whilst TMD where largely from Broadwater Farm
Although this conflict is often labelled Hackney versus Tottenham
It’s really more linked to those two estates within each borough
The series of killings and reprisals between the two areas really kicked off in the late 1990’s
Two of those convicted for the murder of Popcorn were shot dead by TMD
Soon after their release from prison in separate incidents

In June 1999, Meneliek Robinson, 20, was driving his red BMW convertible in Hackney
When it was followed by two motorbikes
One pulled infront of the BMW, lurking its way, whilst another stopped beside it
The pillion dismounted and walked up to the side window firing several shots

Two years later in April 2001, another of the Hackney boys convicted
Corey Wright, 20, was also shot dead in his car in Hackney
His friend who was with him, Wayne Henry, was also killed
The shots fired into Wright's BMW, caused the vehicle to lose control
And it went off the road into a bus stop by Thistlethwaite Road in Lower Clapton
These were some of the 8 gang and organised crime related killings that earned Lower and Upper Clapton Road the reputation as ‘Murder Mile’

Although the murders were never solved, some people believe Clint Ponton had some involvement
And it is alleged he contacted the Hackney Boys to deny his involvement a couple of days after the murders of Wright and Henry
Hackney responded with the murder of TMD / Firm member ’Buckhead’ Crawford from Edmonton
He was murdered in December 2002 after being shot down in a hail of bullets in front of his girlfriend in West Green Road, Tottenham
Hackney Boy Daniel ‘DC’ Cummings, who was also a Hounslow club promoter, was pinned with the murder having been identified by witnesses

However, Clint Ponton again comes into the frame according to street legends
They go along the lines that DC was not behind the killing but Clint Ponton had forced Crawford’s girlfriend to identify Cummings
A strategic move of sorts
DC has been serving a life sentence since 2003
A series of events following Buckhead's murder led to the eventual death of Hackney boy Jason Fearon
It happened at Turnmills Club in Clerkenwell during a So Solid Crew event
Who were managed by Tottenham mandem's later Northstar team
Where singer Lisa Maffia was to be promoting her debut single
An anonymous tip-off was made to Crimestoppers that there would be trouble at the event, and there was an attempt to prevent the event going ahead, but the event organiser refused
As a result, the police parked a vehicle outside the club hoping that it would deter any would-be gunmen
However, in the early hours, several men burst into the nightclub firing shots, injuring one person
The gunfire continued as the targets were chased into the street

Jason Fearon and another man, who believe was the main target, made away in an Audi TT sports car
They were followed by the two Tottenham men, who police believed to be Clint Ponton and Wes Lambie, firing shots into the Audi from their BMW during a car chase
Fearon, who was wearing a bulletproof vest, was hit in the head and died

Clint Ponton, also known as C1 or The Chosen One, and Wes Lambie went into the music industry
Forming the label Northstar, whilst with the Tottenham mandem
Meanwhile, in the background to these seven killings, Mark Lambie had become a target of the recently formed Metropolitan Police unit Operation Trident