Protesters gathered in Swindon town centre for a peaceful anti-fascist demonstration to show their support for immigration and multi-culturalism.

It came as violent ‘stop the boats’ and anti-immigration demonstrations brought havoc to towns and cities all over the UK, including Southport, Sunderland, Liverpool and Leeds, following the killing of three young girls in Southport on Monday.

In Swindon, groups of people began to form around The Parade outside H&M from 2pm on Saturday in response to rumours there would be an anti-immigration protest in the town.

Labour councillor Mannington and Western ward Fay Howard was there and said she was "proud" of the town while praising Wiltshire Police for their stance in ensuring a stand-off which involved a small number of people didn't escalate beyond "shouting".

Cllr Howard said: “Rumour had it there would be an immigration protest and I couldn’t not be there. I wanted to be there just in case, to be a presence of people who want to be there for everybody and those who are anti-racist.

“The people with the banners arranged to get there for 2pm as we thought the anti-immigration group would come at 2.30pm, so we tried to be there first. 

“A member of the public who happened to be sat in front of them challenged what they were saying about immigration and that kicked it off a bit, from then they started shouting at people who were stood peacefully with their banners. At that point around 10 police arrived and they were very good.

“People were shouting at each other on both sides and the police intervened. Initially I was worried about violence until the police came, but they were very swift. We came to be peaceful, so I would have intervened if needed. There weren’t huge numbers so it all went well."

Councillor Howard added: “Lots of people were paying attention and looking at it, reading the banners and showing support for immigration.

“It’s really important because Swindon is quite multi-cultural and we house refugees now, we’ve housed refugees for many years and I want them to feel safe in Swindon and not feel unsafe and not wanted, because they do bring a lot to our community.”

Chief Superintendent Phil Staynings said: “Wiltshire Police facilitated a peaceful protest in the town centre involving around 25 people.

“We were aware of the protest through proactive intelligence scanning and provided an appropriate response, balancing the right to protest with members of the public going about their daily business.

“The force is not aware of any other protest activity this weekend however resources are in place as a contingency, and this being kept constantly under review.”