On Sunday 4th August a large contingent of police officers were deployed to Weymouth Seafront to control two opposing demonstrations, one being an anti-immigration protest called ‘Enough is Enough’ and the other ‘Stand Up To Racism’ which supports immigrants. The presence of a large number of demonstrators caused seafront and bus services to be at a standstill for a time.
An eyewitness who declined to be named said, “I was there for around 90 minutes; I didn’t witness any physical violence. However, there was an arrest before I arrived, and I am told there was at least another arrest after I had departed. Most of the time, both the Enough is Enough supporters and the Stand up to Racism crowd just hurled verbal insults at each other.
“The police, including officers from British Transport Police and other forces, including Bristol, kept a lid on the situation, and while I was there, it was never out of their control.
“There was an amount of drunkenness, and I saw one police officer confiscate a bottle of beer from one individual, but others were openly drinking alcohol from cans.
“There was a very strange atmosphere about the situation. On the esplanade, there was an altercation between the two sets of protagonists, yet 20 meters away on the beach, families watched their young children making sand castles.”
In a statement issued by Dorset Police, a 42-year-old man from Yeovil was arrested on suspicion of a public order offence and a 62-year-old man, also from Yeovil, was arrested for being drunk and disorderly. A further arrest was made of a 27-year-old for assault.
Dorset Police say that they facilitated the two protests along the Esplanade in Weymouth during Sunday afternoon and into the evening, balancing the right to protest with minimising disruption to communities. A highly visible presence with a significant number of resources from Dorset Police as well as officers from Devon and Cornwall, Avon and Somerset, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire were deployed to the area to ensure the demonstrations were safe and legal – with protesters eventually dispersing and leaving the area.
Assistant Chief Constable Mark Callaghan said: “Our approach to this operation was to enable peaceful protests, but if people were intent on committing public order or criminal offences, they would be dealt with robustly as such behaviours would not be tolerated and this is the style of policing that we have delivered and what our communities expect.”
Mr Callaghan continued: “I am disappointed that two of our officers were sadly injured during the operation – one was hit in the face by a bottle thrown at our officers and another was punched to the face. We will be reviewing evidence to bring the offenders of these two incidents to justice.
“Local residents spoke positively to our officers deployed in the area, praising their professionalism during the protests and I would like to thank those who positively engaged with our teams. I would like to extend my thanks to those officers and our wider teams who have maintained our response to communities across the county.”
Rumours circulating that asylum seekers currently housed on the Bibby Stockholm would be moved to Portland, Weymouth or the wider Dorset Council have been confirmed as untrue by the Home Office. In addition, there are no asylum seekers housed in hotels in the Weymouth area.
Images below by Westcountry News & Pictures
