On October 19 1987, the City of London was hit by the cataclysmic event known as 'Black Monday'. Just days after the 'Great Storm of 1987', when hurricane-force winds battered the South East, markets were sent into a tailspin by a stock market crash emanating from the Far East after falling stock prices in the US.

The causes of the crisis are still the subject of debate but have been put down to, among other things, the over-valuation of stocks, the herd mentality of investors fleeing from catastrophe, program trading, and the hedging strategy known as portfolio insurance.