19 people have been arrested after around more than 1,000 anti-fascist demonstrators joined a protest march near the site of a BNP festival, The Daily Telegraph reports.
Vast of the protesters involved in the march near the village of Codnor had been peaceful and co-operative.
However, police did come under brief attack from a small number of protesters, who threw plastic bottles and bags of flour, The Daily Telegraph reports.
Police says at least four men led away in handcuffs in Codnor Denby Lane after the scuffles, which lasted for around five minutes.
A police spokesman said: “Unfortunately, some people have ignored police advice and failed to abide by the agreements reached during the planning of the protest.
Despite what police describes the demonstration was peaceful, local residents behaved differently towards these protestors, The Guardian reports.
At one end of the Codnor Denby Lane the church of St James held hourly prayers for “peace and tolerance” and allowed the protestors to use their toilets, while other residents brought cups of tea to police and reporters.
However, shopkeepers were furious at the invasion, not for the BNP but of the protesters – a mix of anti-racist groups, union and Socialist Worker party members, or the “Trots, anarchists and troublemakers”, as one woman put it.
Eric Madeley closed his watch and clock repairers, though it was supposed to be his busiest day.
He said in a selfish way the BNP are not bothering me but these protesters are. They are just so intimidating, especially those with scarves round their faces. It’s very worrying.
According to The Daily Telegraph, the main body of demonstrators, monitored by a camera mounted on a drone, gathered in Codnor’s Market Place, chanting “Nazi scum, off our streets” and waving placards from campaign group United Against Fascism and various trade union groups.
Local Labour MP Judy Mallaber said a polical gathering should not be held in the village.
She told The Guardian: “For three years, we have argued this site is completely unsuitable and it causes extreme stress for the people who live the farm right next to it and it means people who wish to exercise their right to protest have to do so in narrow streets, which causes more upset to residents and shopkeepers. The BNP are seeking support, but they just show their contempt by going ahead without consideration for the effect on our community.”
Simon Darby, the deputy leader of the BNP, estimated that about 100 of those visiting the festival had been delayed by the protest march, The Daily Telegraph says.
He said: “We are just ordinary people having a bit of a laugh in the sun.”
The festival organised a political marquee to hear speeches, also invited journalists, and a Ford Ka was up o grabs in a raffle alongside stalls selling badges and pork scratchings.
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