A small-scale protest took place in Preston city centre during Saturday afternoon in the wake of the Southport attacks.

It briefly stopped traffic in Church Street as police dispersed the protest away from the Flag Market.

Counter-demonstrators also turned up on the Flag Market to refute anti-refugee chants and anti-immigration slogans.

Read more: Hundreds attend vigil in Southport and community comes together after three girls killed in attack

Blog Preston understands there were some heated exchanges between the protest group and counter-protest group with officers from Preston Police stood between the two groups on the edge of the Flag Market near Heavenly Desserts. This lasted for up to ten minutes before being dispersed. Video footage shows at least one person being arrested following the stand-off in Cheapside.

There’s also reports there was some damage to the Moss Bros hire shop in Cheapside.

The protest took place shortly after 2pm and by 3.15pm had been dispersed by Preston Police who continue to have a high number of officers in Preston city centre focused on the Flag Market.

Below is how the Flag Market looked as of 3.20pm on Saturday (3 August).

A dispersal order is now in force throughout Saturday evening for a swathe of the city centre.

On Saturday morning a statement from Preston City Council confirmed a protest was going to take place and urged counter-demonstrators to stay away from the Flag Market.

Lancashire Police said in a statement on Saturday evening they had made 20 arrests across the county following protests in Blackpool, Blackburn and Preston.

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