THREE people were arrested after hundreds of English Defence League supporters descended on Rotherham.
South Yorkshire Police confirmed that one man was arrested on suspicion of a public order offence, a second on suspicion of affray and another man on suspicion of possession of an offensive weapon as members of the far-right group took to the town in a protest march yesterday.
Around 300 people from EDL branches across Yorkshire and the rest of the country took part in the demonstrationm, while 150 local people attended a counter-protest organised by Unite Against Facism in All Saints Square.
Police deployed 800 officers to oversee proceedings, with officers stationed at bus and train stops and lining the streets of the marchers’ - who sang anti-Islam chants and waved offensive banners as they walked through the centre - route.
Many Rotherham residents found the scenes which unfolded shocking, and local Councillor Brian Steele MP made an impassioned speech in All Saints Square, where he said ‘the EDL is not welcome in Rotherham.’
-See Monday’s Star for full report and pictures
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