Asylum hotel disorder: Knowsley dispersal order extended again

A police van was set on fire after a protest turned violent last Friday

Police have again extended a dispersal order put in place after violent disorder outside a hotel accommodating asylum seekers.

Fifteen people were arrested after protests outside the Suites Hotel in Kirkby, Knowsley on 10 February.

Merseyside Police said the dispersal zone remain in place until 12:59 GMT on Sunday.

Supt Karl Baldwin said the move showed "how serious and determined we are to prevent any repeat of what happened".

A police officer and two members of the public suffered minor injuries during the disorder.

A police van was set alight and missiles, including lit fireworks, were thrown at officers.

The zone covered by the order remains the same as when it was first put in place and includes an area near to the hotel and the A580 East Lancashire Road junction with the M57.

A police dispersal zone will be in place until 12.59 GMT on Sunday

The force said additional police patrols will continue in the area.

Supt Baldwin said it was the "fourth dispersal zone we have issued since the violent scenes".

"I want to stress that this order is not designed to stop residents of Knowsley from going about their lawful business, but it gives us the powers we need to deal effectively with criminal behaviour and keep the community safe," he said.

The force earlier confirmed they had been investigating reports that "a man made inappropriate advances toward a teenage girl" in Kirkby on 6 February.

No victim had been initially identified and a man in his 20s was arrested in another part of the country on suspicion of a public order offence, but was released with no further action, it added.

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