'Huge relief' in Sussex after peaceful protests

Cafe owner Gemma Dearman said there was 'huge relief' following warnings of disorder in Hastings

Business owners in East Sussex have expressed relief as protests in Brighton and Hastings on Wednesday were peaceful.

Police were on stand-by in case of unrest as about 2,000 anti-racism protesters gathered in Brighton's Queens Road, countering about eight anti-immigration protesters.

Anti-racism counter protesters also took to streets in Hastings after information circulated about a planned anti-immigration protest.

Cafe owner Gemma Dearman said there would be a "huge sense of relief" after what she described as "any trouble makers warded away by community spirit".

Ms Dearman said she had closed her business, The Good Place on Havelock Road, early on Wednesday afternoon, as it was "right in the firing line of where people were meant to be congregating".

She installed an extra CCTV camera and removed alcohol out of sight from windows as a precaution.

But when she arrived on Thursday morning, she found no damage.

"By the sound of it, the [counter] protesters showed up in full force and a gave a really strong Hastings response to the situation," she said.

Caroline Love was 'relieved' after disorder failed to materialise in Hastings

Caroline Love, co-owner of the Cake Room in Hastings said she did not board up windows "and all was good, thank goodness".

"Apparently there was some people who came down here to cause trouble and they saw the response of the people that were just positive and friendly and turned around and went home," she said.

Shops, takeaways and pubs closed early on Wednesday, with many boarded up as a precaution.

Sussex Police had mobilised additional and specialist resources, as information circulated about planned events in Brighton, Hastings and Crawley.

The rallies were mostly peaceful and Sussex Police previously said there were no arrests at the events.

Sussex Police said about 400 people gathered in Hastings

But assistant chief constable Paul Court told BBC Radio Sussex on Thursday that "a number of arrests" were made on Wednesday "for those individuals who think that they can incite hate and violence online".

He said two people were in custody on Thursday.

He said communities had come "out into the streets with an anti-racism message, one of unity and solidarity, following the deplorable, racist, criminal behaviour that we've seen across the country".

A further rally took place in Brighton on Thursday, organised by Stand Up to Racism.

BBC reporter Peter Whittlesea said the event, attended by about 100 people, had been organised before Wednesday’s protests “to organise something that showed peace and solidarity”.

In Brighton's Queens Road, Ikigai Coffee owner Jerry Chow said regulars had warned him to "be careful" ahead of planned disorder.

A series of riots across the country broke out last Tuesday, in which shops were broken into and looted.

"I felt scared because our shopfront is wide open, we don't have any protection," Mr Chow said.

Jacqueline Reeves, owner of Coastal Stamp Auctions - also on Queens Road - said she had been in the shop with her brother and friends last night to try and "protect" it.

"My shop's been here 55 years, we've all worked very hard," she said.

Jacqueline Reeves said police were "very good" during last night's demonstration in Hastings

Jamie Wells, who works at Brighton's Cafe Coho, said they closed several hours earlier on Wednesday and put cardboard in windows to "stop people looking in".

"There was this tension of not knowing what was going to come, but thankfully there was a brilliant counter-demonstration yesterday," he said on Thursday morning.

Sussex Police said about 400 people attended a "peaceful protest" in Hastings.

Mr Court said the force was monitoring potential events planned for this weekend and would have "hundreds of specialist officers on duty".

Anti-racism protesters also gathered outside a hotel in Kent

About 25 counter-protesters had gathered outside a Holiday Inn in Chatham on Wednesday night, alongside a small number of anti-immigration protesters.

Five people were arrested by Kent Police.