Around 200 anti-immigration protesters wearing St George’s and Union flags clashed with Stand Up to Racism protesters in Surrey on Saturday.
Tensions were high before the two groups collided, as anti-racism protesters were heckled by residents of Horley while they marched through the town.
The two groups met on Bonehurst Road near the Four Points By Sheraton hotel, which is used to house asylum seekers, and were separated by lines of police.
Officers struggled to keep the groups separated as they tried to move the Stand Up to Racism protesters through the anti-migrant crowd.
The anti-racism protesters chanted that refugees were welcome, held signs calling for solidarity and called for “racist scum” to get off the streets.
They were met with a torrent of abuse from the anti-migration group, one of whom yelled through a megaphone “you’re all scum and you should be ashamed” and that “this wasn’t about racism”.
Later, the anti-immigration protesters sang songs in support of far-right activist Tommy Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon.
This week, at Staines Magistrates’ Court, a man who was living at the hotel was convicted of three counts of sexual assault against three different women.
Qais Al-Aswad, 26, has been remanded in custody and will be sentenced for those offences at the same court on October 1.
A Stand Up to Racism protester said: “Not everyone in a hotel is a rapist, I’m not here to defend rapists, I’m here to defend ordinary people.
“F*** the rapists, I’m not here to defend them, none of us are.
“If you’re against racism and you’re against women being touched we should all be together, because that’s what we all believe, that’s what I believe.”
One anti-immigration protester, wearing a West Ham United shirt, offered his hand out and said that was a “valid” statement, but a couple of minutes later, he sat on another man’s shoulders yelling “what you’re doing is disgusting” at the anti-racism protesters.
The Stand Up to Racism protesters continued to chant “no hate, no fear, refugees are welcome here” which was met with calls of “no they’re f****** not” from the other side of the street.
There were calls of “two-tier policing” from anti-immigration protesters who appeared frustrated by attempts to separate them from the anti-racism group.
Emma Taylor-Beale, who was protesting for Stand Up to Racism, said she believed the anti-immigration protests were a result of “people buying into lies”.
She told the PA news agency: “I’ve got a heart for anyone who’s got a need and our migrant community deserve protection, they deserve dignity, they’ve been through enough.”
Ms Taylor-Beale said she was not surprised at the number of anti-immigration protesters that had turned out to the demonstration, given what she had seen on social media.
“This time last year when we had the riots in the summer, all of us showing support were the massive majority in Brighton and in Crawley, and the far-right were there, but they weren’t like the members of the public,” she added.
“This isn’t just the far-right, you can’t label everyone on that side who’s come out as far-right, I think people are buying into lies, they’re angry, they’re hurt and people have got a reason to be angry right now.”
Ms Taylor-Beale argued that economic inequality and the housing crisis were at the root of the divide.
