Against the background of the terrible events witnessed in several parts of the country over the last week, the last thing anywhere needed was the EDL to raise their ugly heads again.
Unfortunately the EDL had a planned march booked for today resulting in the cancellation of the AFC Telford v Luton football match and yet again the closure of most of the city centre and the disruption of people’s everyday lives. The march was cancelled yesterday but the actual demo was allowed to go ahead.
As it was it proved to be a bit of a damp squib.
The police estimate that 300 EDL supporters turned up, people actually inside the demo put the numbers much lower at between 100 and 150. A counter demo seemed to attract a similar number.
There were a few minor scuffles and the police reported five arrests for minor offences. Bottles were thrown at police and a couple of bright sparks thought it would be a good idea to try and open the doors to a police dog van. Luckily for them, they failed.
Later, there has been reports of sporadic clashes in the town.