Ugly scenes in Sunderland as far-right demonstrators attack police and target mosque

Organisers of the protest had spread the word for people to gather at 7pm on Friday, August 2, outside City Hall with England flags in a stand against immigration.

Hundreds gathered in Keel Square, and there were also individuals outside the in Masjid e Anwaar e Madinah mosque in St Mark’s Road, Millfield.

However, there was also a heavy Northumbria Police presence.

The Echo saw clashes with officers and what appeared to be arrests being made.

It followed violence in Hartlepool and other towns and cities this week, sparked by the stabbings in Southport.

Crowds of demonstrators, many wearing balaclavas, waved England flags while clapping and sipping pints of beer, as they gathered in Sunderland, with some passing cars beeping their horns.

The North News and Pictures agency was outside the mosque in Millfield, where the team reported how riot police and horses formed a barricade around the religious temple, braced for attack.

Bricks, poppers and plant pots were said to be hurled at the officers.

Shoppers at the nearby Aldi store were too scared to leave, reported the agency, while elsewhere dung from police horses was thrown at officers.

In another scene in the city, a police car came under attack.

Thugs smashed a window before others piled in and began launching drinks and yelling at officers. The car eventually managed to drive off.

Other reports include police having beer barrels thrown at them as they tried to contain the hundred protesters.

As a helicopter flew overhead, young men reportedly threw stones at the police and chanted “whose streets, our streets”.

Earlier in the day, the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) announced hundreds of mosques across the country are strengthening their security and protective measures ahead of planned protests.

The MCB said there were fears that Islamic places of worship could be targeted during demonstrations expected to take place over the weekend following the Southport stabbing attack.

Protests are understood to be planned for areas such as Liverpool, Glasgow, Lancaster, Blackburn, Newcastle, Birmingham, Dover, Middlesborough, Leeds and Hull, aswell as the one in Sunderland, the MCB said.

The organisation put together a plan in which mosques would hire paid security staff because of “deep-seated anxiety” and “palpable fear” among communities.

Its secretary-general Zara Mohammed said that mosques told of receiving threats on the phone about “targeted attacks” during a mosque security community briefing on Thursday.

Expanding on the plan, Ms Mohammed said: “So it’s around protective measures: ensuring that the doors and windows are secure, carrying out a risk assessment, making sure CCTV cameras are working, and having some paid security staff on site.” Alice Dasilva Aguiar, nine, Bebe King, six, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, were stabbed to death at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in Southport on Monday, July 29.

The Southport stabbings

Axel Rudakubana, 17, appeared at Liverpool Crown Court on Thursday, where a judge ruled his identity could be made public.

He has been charged with three counts of murder, 10 counts of attempted murder and possession of a bladed article.

The teenager was born in Cardiff, but false information about his immigration status spread on social media.

Riots followed the tragedies in the town in which 53 police officers were injured and eight were treated in hospital suffering from serious injuries. Three police dogs were also injured.