Protesters, police clash near hotel housing asylum-seekers in UK

By Burak Bir

LONDON (AA) - Protesters clashed with police Friday near a hotel housing asylum-seekers in northwestern England.

Officers are "dealing with two groups of protesters" in Prescot, as they were "facilitating an initially peaceful protest and counter protest" on Ribblers Lane, Merseyside police said in a statement.

"During the evening, missiles have reportedly been thrown and damage caused to a police vehicle," said police, adding no injuries have been reported.

Police presence in the area has increased to curb the incident. Police also implemented a number of road closures in the region.

According to the Guardian newspaper, disturbance was broken in the Knowsley area of Liverpool after the several hundred far-right demonstrators arrived to protest asylum seekers who have been housed in a hotel by the Home Office.

"Anti-fascist demonstrators also attended and one demonstrator said the far-right protestors had split into three groups and had surrounded the smaller number of anti-fascist protestors," it reported.