Police attend anti-migrant protest in coastal town

Protesters gathered on Dorset's south coast in the wake of a major anti-migrant protest in Portsmouth.

Dorset Police said it received a report at 10:27 BST on Sunday of a protest in the area of Lake Drive in Poole, which moved to West Quay Road.

It said officers attended to make sure people could "protest legally and safely without causing significant or ongoing disruption", and no offences or disorder had been reported.

Hundreds of protesters gathered in Portsmouth on Sunday night after about 140 migrants arrived in a dinghy that had crossed the English Channel.

According to a post shared by local group Poole Patriots on social media, protesters took to the streets to see if any small boats from Portsmouth were brought into Poole.

Dorset Police said it would "continue to monitor intelligence around protest activity" and "respond accordingly".

"As a force, we remain committed to ensuring people can exercise their right to protest legally but would urge those organising events to work with us so we can minimise any disruption to the wider public," it said.

"We will seek to enable peaceful protests, but public order or criminal offences will not be tolerated and will be dealt with robustly."

The force told the Daily Echo it was "not aware of any reported migrant arrivals" in the area.

The protest group dispersed at about 11:45 BST.

A large group of masked men held a demonstration over small-boat crossings at the Port of Dover on Saturday, causing a major disruption.