26 July 2025, 19:52
Protesters against asylum seekers being housed in the Brook Hotel protest outside with flags and signs during the demonstration.
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Hundreds of people have gathered outside a hotel housing asylum seekers – echoing scenes in Epping earlier this week.
Hundreds arrived at a hotel in Norwich holding St George’s flags and signs, some readying “Stop the invasion”.
There were around 400 anti-immigration protestors with 150 counter-protestors outside The Brook Hotel in Bowthorpe.
Demonstrators were heard chanting “We want our country back” and “Stop the invasion”.
This comes violent protests erupted in Epping, Essex this week.
On Friday, in Epping, Shaun Thompson, 37, was charged with violent disorder and criminal damage, while Lee Gower, 43, has been charged with violent disorder and assault on an emergency worker.
There have been a series of demonstrations in the Essex town since asylum seeker Hadush Gerberslasie Kebatu, 38, was charged with sexual assault after an incident earlier this month in which he is alleged to have attempted to kiss a 14-year-old girl.
Read More: Two more charged in connection with anti-migrant protests in Epping
Read more: Tough new rules to crack down on migrants who ‘game’ the hotel system and refuse to leave
Protesters against the asylum seekers being housed in the Brook Hotel come up against a police cordon.
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Protesters against the asylum seekers being housed in the Brook Hotel.
Picture:
Getty
Speeches took place in Norwich around 3:30pm on Saturday and the crowd dispersed.
Norfolk Police said the event ended peacefully with no arrests made.
Glen Saffer, one of the organisers, told the BBC: “It’s what we wanted – a peaceful demonstration.
“We are here as a community to shut this place down.”
He urged he was not against all immigration and that the protesters were not racist.
“I agree we 100% want legal people in this country. If they wanted to be doctors and nurses, we welcome them in,” he said.
A protester is wrestled to the ground during the demonstration although there was no arrest outside the Brook Hotel.
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Supt Wes Hornigold said: “We would like to thank the public for their understanding today, particularly during some short periods of disruption whilst groups were exercising their rights to peaceful protest.
“We had a number of officers on duty to ensure the safety of everyone involved and to facilitate the protest.”
This comes as police made two arrests following protests outside hotels in both Diss and Bowthorpe last week.
The two men aged in their 20s were arrested on Saturday morning on suspicion of affray and taken into custody at Wymondham Police Investigation Centre where they remain.
Police will review available footage from both sides of the protest and consulate the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).