Beneath the charred monstrosity, shock was fast yielding to anger yesterday evening – as the Mayor of London discovered when he went for a walkabout in the streets below Grenfell Tower.

Pursued by a crowd of frustrated locals and several hecklers, Sadiq Khan was left in no doubt about the visceral fury felt for all forms of officialdom here-abouts. He was even heckled by a seven-year-old schoolboy.

Kai Ramos, sitting on a friend’s shoulders, yelled repeatedly: ‘How many kids died, Mr Khan? How many?’ Turning to Kai, the Mayor promised he was doing his best to find out, or at least that’s what it sounded like. It was hard to hear above the abuse being hurled by a self-styled black activist, held back by the nervous ring of police officers surrounding Mr Khan.

Outburst: Sadiq Khan listens as a woman in the crowd confronts him during his visit to the disaster area yesterday

Challenge: Mr Khan is questioned by Kai Ramos, seven, sitting on a friend’s shoulders

This is an area famous for protest and dissent. The 1958 Notting Hill riots began on Bramley Road, right next to the spot where the Grenfell was later built. Delicate policing will be called for in the febrile and furious days ahead if history is not to repeat itself. The mood is worse than ugly.

Many people, it should be said, were pleased to see Mr Khan. He had, at least, walked the streets and taken on all-comers. Retired hospitality worker Colleen Coombes broke down, sobbing on his shoulder as she gasped: ‘Heads must roll!’ ‘You’ll get your justice,’ the Mayor assured her.

The Prime Minister had made an earlier visit but no one had been aware of Theresa May’s brief ‘private’ meeting with emergency workers until it was over. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn turned up to attend a meeting of hand-picked locals and then chat to some volunteers. A low-key affair.

The Mayor, however, was mobbed the moment he arrived at Notting Hill Methodist Church. At first, it was a friendly reception as he listened to locals including former Catatonia pop star Cerys Matthews, who badgered him on the need for sprinklers in all new social housing. ‘And can we have vetting of the builders, too?’ she added.

Mr Khan looked inside the Methodist Church, an exemplary relief operation amid the mayhem. Working round the clock the Rev Mike Long, 53, and a team of relentlessly cheerful volunteers have catalogued three floors of food, clothes, shoes and toiletries. All will now be shipped to a local warehouse for distribution.

Beneath the charred monstrosity, shock was fast yielding to anger yesterday evening – as the Mayor of London discovered when he went for a walkabout in the streets below Grenfell Tower

Pursued by a crowd of frustrated locals and several hecklers, Sadiq Khan was left in no doubt about the visceral fury felt for all forms of officialdom here-abouts

This is an area famous for protest and dissent. The 1958 Notting Hill riots began on Bramley Road, right next to the spot where the Grenfell was later built

Mr Long had been particularly moved by the response of local children. ‘So many have come to give us toys which clearly meant a great deal to them,’ he said.

As the Mayor toured the church, there was a scuffle outside when a man in a track suit suddenly ran out from the sealed-off emergency zone, vaulted the police barrier and legged it into a neighbouring estate. Eventually, he was extracted in handcuffs. He had apparently been caught using his mobile phone to take pictures of bodies being extracted from the tower.

‘He was just desperate to find out what’s happened to his family,’ insisted one of his friends. With photographs of dead victims of the fire being posted on Facebook, there will be many grieving families who have zero sympathy for such behaviour.

This was a day when the best and worst of human nature were on display. It was somehow especially depressing to find two British Transport Police officers deployed at Latimer Road Tube station purely in order to stop people taking disaster selfies from a section of platform with a prime view of the tower. ‘Just show some respect and move along!’ barked a constable.

On the streets, however, there were innumerable little scenes to stir the heart of the most jaundiced cynic. I was in Buggsi’s newsagents on Bramley Road when a middle-aged man walked up to the counter ahead of me, clearly distressed. ‘I just wanted to say thank you for being so nice to my Mum all these years,’ he told the shopkeeper. He paused. ‘I’m afraid she didn’t make it ...’

On the streets, there were innumerable little scenes to stir the heart of the most jaundiced cynic

A lot quoted the Koran, in both English and Arabic. The Islamic festival of Ramadan continues until the end of next week and a large number of the missing are Muslims

On the walls of the nearby Latymer community centre, plastic boards now cover the walls like one huge, vertical book of condolence. By yesterday afternoon, there was scarcely room for any new messages. Many were angry, a handful politically partisan. The vast majority simply echoed the prevailing sense of compassion and desperation. ‘My lovely Nadia and Fatima,’ said one, ‘I don’t know why you are not answering my calls but I am not giving up. Sonia X.’

A lot quoted the Koran, in both English and Arabic. The Islamic festival of Ramadan continues until the end of next week and a large number of the missing are Muslims.

Wandering between the designated community centres for the homeless and bereaved, I met His Excellency Abdesselam Aboudrar, the Moroccan Ambassador to the UK, doing the same. There were many of his compatriots living in Grenfell Tower, he explained, but he was finding it just as hard as everyone else to get any information on them. ‘It’s incredible to see the solidarity of the people of London, though,’ he said. ‘We are very grateful for that.’

London mayor Sadiq Khan pictured speaking at the scene of the fire on Thursday

Opposite us, a line of volunteers were forming a human conveyor belt to transfer the endless boxes of goods donated to the Westway Centre to a fleet of vans queuing back up the road. By yesterday, every local community centre was turning away both gifts and volunteers. Yet still the goodwill kept on coming.

One group of volunteers was sorting through hundreds of bags of clothes on the pavement of Walmer Road.

They had been a little miffed that the nearby Rugby Portobello Trust youth centre was shooing away all offers of help and goods, leading to tailbacks in the surrounding streets as vanloads of unwanted gifts searched for a recipient. So former aid worker Sue Walsh had decided to set up a new relief operation on the street.

And in among all this uplifting chaos, the heartbreak continues. I bumped into Jason Garcia, 23, searching for his missing cousin, Jessica Urbano, 12. He had her photo pinned to his chest.

Her family had heard nothing since a desperate phone call in the early hours of Wednesday. With her mother working a night shift, Jessica had been trying to escape her 20th floor home with some neighbours. ‘There must be someone who can tell us something,’ said Jason. He and the rest of the family had spent all day going from one community centre and hospital to another. They would be starting all over again first thing in the morning.