Thetford anti-migrant protests: five arrested

Police in eastern England arrested five people and escorted asylum seekers to safety after three consecutive nights of anti-migrant protests in Thetford, Norfolk police said Friday.

The protests ran from Tuesday to Thursday and targeted buildings protesters believed were housing asylum seekers, Norfolk police chief Paul Sanford told BBC Radio 4.

"On a couple of occasions, that required us to escort the residents of those properties away for their safety," Sanford said, adding that some residents were asylum seekers.

The protests followed proposals to use a nearby disused military site to house asylum seekers. The government has been trying to reduce the use of hotels for asylum seeker accommodation, which has become a flashpoint for protests.

The Guardian reported that more than 100 people protested on Tuesday and Wednesday after a list of properties allegedly linked to asylum seeker housing circulated online.

Three people were arrested on suspicion of public order offences during the earlier protests, and police said one officer was hit by a rock, another was bitten and a third was spat at. Two more men were arrested on Thursday night, which police said was calmer.

Sanford said it was highly likely protesters would have entered a targeted property and threatened occupants' safety if police had not intervened.