Tensions erupt at Dudley protest rallies

Bottles were thrown and steel fences pulled down as tensions grew at a protest in Dudley.

The disturbance broke out around 30 minutes after the English Defence League (EDL) rally began in Flood Street car park in the town centre.

By 4pm, seven people had been arrested for offences including criminal damage and possession of offensive weapons.

The town centre had been in lockdown all day ahead of EDL's rally, and a separate event run by Unite Against Facism (UAF).

Thirty streets were sealed off, while shops and car parks were shut as hundreds of police officers from across the West Midlands manned roadblocks.

The event appeared to going off peacefully until around half an hour after police escorted the crowd of EDL supporters to the protest venue.

A small pocket of protestors pulled down barriers cordoning off the car park. Police called for back-up and teams of officers in riot gear went to control the angry scenes.

The EDL says it is demonstrating against a planned £18 million mosque in Hall Street.

UAF held its own event in Stafford Street. Called One Dudley Many Cultures, organisers say they aimed to celebrate multiculturalism in the borough.

* See Monday's Express & Star for full coverage and pictures