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EDL leave Aylesbury after peaceful day of protests
The English Defence League protestors have left Aylesbury following a largely peaceful day.
Only 12 arrests were made during the day and no police officers or EDL members were injured.
Around 800 protestors turned up - with a similar number of police officers on duty in the town to make sure the day went smoothly.
The protest, which only lasted around one hour in Market Square, passed without serious incident.
However, in the closing stages groups of EDL in the crowd surged to the rear of Market Square against the wishes of their stewards, before police officers contained them for a short while and then allowed the groups to move out of the square to the coaches and train station.
Richard List, Local Area Commander said: "On the whole we experienced few problems but are disappointed that there was some public disorder towards the end.
"However, we were able to deploy resources to quickly deal with the situation and prevent it from escalating.
"Thames Valley Police wants to make clear it was the EDL whose actions were disorderly, and we were required to establish control of this group before allowing them to leave Market Square to disperse.
"We are unaware of any police officers or EDL supporters who have been injured as a result of this.
"Most protestors have now left town and we will be working with the local community and our partners to ensure that Aylesbury returns to normal as quickly as possible.
"Today has been a difficult day for the town but I would like to thank the local community and our partners who have worked with us to make sure that the protest has passed of with out major incident.
"Fortunately, community relations in the town are good and we will be continuing our partnership work to make sure that they stay that way."
He added that the counter demonstration held in Vale Park passed off peacefully and dispersed without any problems.
Of the 12 people arrested, eight were on suspicion of possessing offensive weapons (two groups of two and one group of four, who were stopped in cars on their way into Aylesbury), three for public order offences and one for being drunk and disorderly.
Two protestors, a 20-year-old man and a 45-year-old man, received medical attention from South Central Ambulance Service after they reported feeling unwell.
The far-right EDL protestors arrived in Market Square at around 2.30 and were kept contained in a 'pen' surrounded by hundreds of police officers.
They chanted, waved flags, including an Israeli flag, and held a two minute silence in memory of fallen soldiers.
Around an hour later they were escorted down Great Western Street onto Friarage Road where they boarded coaches taking them home.
By around 5pm most had left the town, and the clean-up operation had begun in Market Square.
Andrew Grant, Chief Executive of Aylesbury Vale District Council said: "Today has required an intensive effort by the police and partners but all the planning and preparation has been worth it to protect the safety of the public.
"Our priority is to now support the town in getting back to normal as quickly as possible.
"I'm sure that's what we all want. Shops and businesses will open as usual from tomorrow and a range of entertainment has been organised for Monday by the Town Centre Partnership to help welcome people back to the town".
Sue Imbriano, Acting Chief Executive Officer of Buckinghamshire County Council added: 'Today has been a good example of partnership planning and working in order to achieve our joint objective, which was about making this event as peaceable as possible for the residents of Aylesbury.'
Apart from New Street, all road access restrictions have been lifted.
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Weather for Aylesbury
Saturday 04 February 2012
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: -1 C to 2 C
Wind Speed: 16 mph
Wind direction: South
Tomorrow
Cloudy
Temperature: -0 C to 3 C
Wind Speed: 9 mph
Wind direction: West
