Arrests made after reported fight follows protests

Protesters faced-off with police in the centre of Leeds

Several people have been arrested after reports of a fight following large protests in the centre of Leeds.

West Yorkshire Police said a number of people had been detained after an incident on George Street at around 17:00 BST.

It followed demonstrations by far-right protesters and an anti-racist group earlier, which were held in close proximity to each other on The Headrow.

Footage shared on social media showed a series of angry exchanges between the groups but police said it had "passed off largely without incident", with only one arrest made during the protest.

A line of police officers separated the two protests in Leeds city centre

However, police later confirmed officers had responded to "reports of a fight" shortly afterwards and "several arrests for affray" had been made.

A spokesperson said enquiries were ongoing, but they were unable to be more specific about the number of people who had been detained.

Protests by far-right groups took place across the UK on Saturday, with pockets of violence erupting at demos in Manchester, Liverpool and Hull resulting in injuries to police officers.

An estimated 150 people took part in a far-right demonstration outside Leeds Art Gallery at the same time as similar protests were held in towns and cities across the UK.

On multiple occasions the demo appeared to disperse before reforming

Just 20m away and separated by police, around 250 anti-racism protesters held a counter-demonstration and their numbers swelled over the course of the afternoon.

Far-right protesters were heard chanting "You're not English anymore", while anti-racism demonstrators sang "Say it loud, say it clear, refugees are welcome here".

On multiple occasions the far-right demonstration appeared to have dispersed, before regrouping.

At one stage, the group marched a loop of the city centre, passing through the city centre shopping areas, before returning to The Headrow and standing on the road.

Buses briefly had difficulty passing through the area as traffic was disrupted.

The demo later moved around to the opposite side of the anti-racism counter-demonstration, closely followed by police who maintained a disciplined line separating both groups.

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