The English Defence League (EDL) have been granted permission to hold a ‘static protest’ between 1 and 2pm today, with Unite Against Fascism (UAF) holding a counter demonstration.

Police presence is going to be highly visible as Lancashire Constabulary hope to avoid the violent clashes that occured in Bolton in March earlier this year. Nine EDL members were arrested as well as 55 UAF supporters, including Weyman Bennett, joint secretary of Unite Against Fascism.

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Some shopkeepers near the area of the planned protest (below) have stated that their shutters will be down for the duration of the afternoon to minimise any damage that may occur from the protests. If you want a point-by-point checklist of what the Council’s view and policy is, they’ve published a very handy list of any questions you might have.

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We’ll have several reporters on the scene, so follow us all on Twitter at @JosephStash, @ajhalls1 and @JournoDanny. We’ll keep you updated on what’s going on with the hashtag #edluaf, and bring you photos, video and audio of the event as soon as the demonstrations end.

The console below will pull in any of our live tweets, so you keep track of what’s going on either here on Blog Preston or on Twitter itself.

We also want to hear your views on the demonstrations, positive or negative. Tweet us @blogpreston or leave a comment in the box below.