Man in court after violent unrest in city centre

Police have made 17 arrests following the disorder on Saturday

A man has appeared in court after violent unrest broke out in Bristol city centre.

Ashley Harris, 36, of Chipperfield Drive in Kingswood, appeared at Bristol Magistrates’ Court charged with violent disorder.

He was refused bail and remanded in custody. He is due to next appear at Bristol Crown Court on 9 September.

The charge comes after hundreds of far-right protesters and a counter-protest group gathered for two demonstrations near Castle Park.

Avon and Somerset Police have arrested a total of 17 people so far in connection with the conflict, relating to various offences including racially-aggravated public disorder and assaulting an emergency worker.

On Sunday, two men, aged 45 and 39, were charged with Section 4 public order offences and are due to appear in court on 5 September.

Tensions have been high across England after the killing of three girls in Southport, Merseyside, on 29 July.

False claims were spread online that the person responsible was an asylum seeker who had arrived in the UK by boat.