Furious protesters have clashed with police and counter-protesters outside a migrant hotel in Essex. Locals opposed to migrants being housed at The Bell Hotel in Epping, Essex, on Thursday gathered outside the venue, where they were met by anti-racism counter-protesters.
Officers struggled to keep the crowds back at points as protesters screamed, "Shame on you", in the direction of the counter-protesters and police. The Express saw one officer hit in the head by a projectile thrown from someone in the crowd.
The clash in the usually quiet, leafy town come after another protest outside the same hotel on Sunday (July 13). That protest passed off without any offences being committed, according to Essex Police, but two security guards were seriously assaulted by a group of men at a bus stop in the town.
Protests erupted after an asylum seeker was charged by police with three counts of sexual assault, one count of inciting a girl to engage in sexual activity and one count of harassment without violence.
Hadush Gerberslasie Kebatu, 38, appeared at Colchester Magistrates’ Court on Thursday (July 10) and denied all the alleged offences. He was denied bail and remanded into custody.
James Regan, a local Reform UK councillor, told the Express: "I'm here to protest against what's going on here and across the country. They're trying to infuse us with illegal migrants and we're fed up with it now."
Hairdresser, Barry Seager, 58, told the Express that Epping was the wrong place for migrants to be housed. He said: "A market town shouldn't necessarily be a place for asylum seekers."
Epping local, Lindsey Thompson, said people in the town are desperate to be heard. She told the Express: "We just want to be heard. We're hoping that by coming here today in numbers [means] somebody might hear. This is not okay for us. We can't sustain this."
Police were forced to block a road with vans near the hotel at one point during the protest, with around 200 protesters having turned up.
People could be heard shouting as they marched down the road as police officers tried to manage the crowd and keep counter-protesters and protesters apart.
