This is the moment a police van drove into an anti-migrant protester after violent clashes erupted outside a migrant hotel following the arrest of an asylum seeker accused of sexually assaulting teenage schoolgirls.
Hundreds of furious residents gathered outside the Bell Hotel in Epping, Essex, which has been operating as an asylum hotel on and off for the last five years.
Last night’s protest began peacefully, but later flared into violence after a group of hardcore agitators stopped three Essex Police riot vans from driving past the hotel to support their colleagues in the centre of the town.
Children in balaclavas joined grown men and women to block the road by standing across it, before protesters started attacking the police vehicles, with some seen hurling projectiles at the vans and officers.
Now, dramatic footage has emerged which appears to show the moment a demonstrators is driven into by one of the retreating police vehicles.
In the clip, one police van is seen blasting through a plastic barrier in the middle of road as the mob of angry residents yells at the officers trapped inside it.
A second van, following directly behind, is then recorded driving into a man, who had stepped into its path, launching him backwards as people scream: ‘Oh my god’ and ‘what the f***’.
Two other vans travelling in the convoy are then attacked by thugs, with people launching missiles at them while others kick the vehicles.
The man who was mown down by the police van is then seen getting up and brushing himself down as he shouts at the convoy.
A man was seen being struck by a police van following violent protests outside a migrant hotel in Essex
The is seen being shunted backwards by the police van as it continues down the road
Seconds earlier, a police van leading the convoy was seen hurtling through a plastic barrier
After the man was seen being hit by a police van, demonstrators nearby were spotted trying to kick other passing vehicles
Essex Police is aware of the video circulating on social media and has been approached for comment by MailOnline.
Photos from later in the evening show one of the vans with a smashed windscreen.
Other footage from earlier in the mayhem showed men repeatedly punching and kicking the vans, as another man yells ‘smash it, smash it’ while officers sat trapped inside while the vandals attempted to break the windows.
Several thugs then clambered on to the roof of the vehicles, before jumping up and down. The van was eventually forced to flee with its back doors wide open.
The agitators also threw fireworks and bottles at police as they sought to protect anti-racism counter-demonstrators.
Essex Police reported that one officer sustained a minor neck injury in the course of policing the protest.
The force also said that they had already identified several suspects they believe are responsible for damaging police vehicles, the hotel, and assaulting officers.
Officers on patrol also arrested a man on suspicion of affray, following an assault reported close to The Bell Hotel on Sunday evening.
One of the protestors jumps up and down on a police van while wrapped in the St George’s flag
A man dressed in all black stands on the bonnet of a police van with its windows smashed
Anti-immigration protestors attack riot police vans hitting windows with officers stuck inside
Earlier the man could be seen scrambling up the windscreen of the van, with officers trapped inside
A line of men shout at police as they form a human baricade between the protestors and the anti-racism counter-protesters
Another man dressed all in black approaches a police van as a braying mob watch on
Police armed with riot shields form a barrier across the road following a major public order incident in Epping on Thursday
A protestor appears to be detained by police
The violent clashes prompted the deployment of over 180 police officers from Essex Police, the Metropolitan Police, and Hertfordshire Constabulary
Police officers stand in a street covered in smashed glass and other debris
Dean Walters, 65, of Corner Meadow in Harlow, has been charged with affray and released on bail to appear at Chelmsford Magistrates’ Court on September 24, with stringent conditions until then.
The latest unrest has been triggered after Ethiopian asylums seeker Hadush Gerberslasie Kebatu, 38, was charged with a number of sexual offences.
He was arrested by officers on July 8 after reports of a man acting inappropriately towards a number of people.
Kebatu appeared at Colchester Magistrates’ Court on Thursday, July 10, and denied all offences.
Kebatu was charged with three counts of sexual assault, as well as one count of inciting a girl to engage in sexual activity and one count of harassment without violence.
At the protest well-dressed mothers stood side-by-side with retired businessmen and women and dozens of bald tattooed middle-aged men to call for the hotel to stop operating as refugee accommodation.
One bearded man wearing shorts draped a union flag over his shoulders as he took selfie pictures outside the embattled hostel.
The latest unrest has been triggered after Ethiopian asylum seeker Hadush Gerberslasie Kebatu, 38, was charged with a number of sexual offences
Essex Police were out in force in the picturesque commuter town – blocking the entrance to the hotel car park with a riot van.
One of the demonstrators told how the ‘whole of Epping’ was united in opposition to housing asylum seekers in their town.
The 74-year-old retired company director who declined to give his name said: ‘We are all absolutely sick of it. They should all be sent back to where they’ve come from. If they came in a small boat from France then they should be sent back to France.
‘It’s absolutely outrageous that we have to pay for them – the food, their accommodation, their phones, everything.
‘How is it that our children can’t walk home from school without being attacked?’
A mother-of-three added: ‘This is not about being racist, it’s about protecting our children. There are a load of schools near here and there are all these single men here in the hotel and no one knows who they are.
Essex Police were out in force in Epping tonight as hundreds of angry residents took to the streetsto voice their anger after an asylum seeker was charged with sexual offences
A protestor is blocked by police as a counter-protest continues in the background, with people holding signs saying ‘Refugees welcome, stop the far-right’
Protestors gathered outside the Bell Hotel in Epping, which has reportedly been used to house migrants for the last five years
Hundreds of furious Essex residents took to the streets to voice their anger following the arrest of a migrant on sex assault charges against school girls
One of the demonstrators told how the ‘whole of Epping’ was united in opposition to housing asylum seekers in their town
A protestor lights a flare as residents call for the closure of the asylum hotel where the man was staying
Well-dressed mothers and retired businessmen and women joined dozens of bald tattooed middle aged men to call for the closure of the Bell Hotel as refugee accommodation
One bearded man wearing shorts draped a union flag over his shoulders as he took selfie pictures outside the embattled hostel
‘They’ve not been screened, or checked or anything.’
One man held a flag of St George with the slogan written in black: ‘Save Our Kids’.
Youths wearing face masks, caps and sunglasses surged through bushes at the side of the road to try to confront their opponents.
Police were forced to push some of the anti-migrant protesters back.
But some managed to break through police lines and grabbed the anti-racism placards and threw them back at their opponents.
Meanwhile a middle aged man with a Union flag draped over his shoulders and a black trilby hat joined the crowd with a loud speaker playing ska music classics.
Police were forced to create a protective ring around the 50 or so anti-racism demonstrators as they became surrounded by protesters at the entrance to Epping town centre.
Essex Police then deployed squads of riot officers as protesters urged the demonstrators to ‘f*** off out of Epping’ and accused them of protecting ‘paedos’.
The man waved at passersby with the Union Jack draped over his shoulders
Beyond Union Jacks – others held a flag of St George with the slogan written in black: ‘Save Our Kids’
Essex Police were out in force in the picturesque commuter town – blocking the entrance to the hotel car park with a riot van
A 74-year-old retired company director who declined to give his name said: ‘We are all absolutely sick of it’
Ethiopian asylum seeker Hadush Gerberslasie Kebatu today appeared in court accused of sexually assaulting a 14-year-old schoolgirl and inciting her to engage in sex (file image)
The anti-racism group were pelted by occasional bottles, cans and eggs hurled by the anti-migrant protesters.
Chief Superintendent Simon Anslow said: ‘I am sure those living in Epping have concerns following tonight. I share those concerns.
‘We know the people who carried out these crimes do not represent Epping or Essex.
‘Nothing about the offending we saw tonight is representative of these communities, or the peaceful event that ended before this started. This was crime.
‘Our detectives are already working through the footage of this evening – from our officers bodyworn camera, from our drones and from social media – and where offences are identified we will take action.
‘People attended the earlier protest and did so peacefully, lawfully and responsibly. I’d like to thank them for expressing their views this way given the strength of feeling locally.
‘The details of the ongoing sexual assault case can be found on our website, and I reiterate the importance for respect for the court process to prevent the release of any prejudicial information in relation to that case.’
A temporary wire fence has been erected in recent days following a series of violent and bad tempered confrontations earlier in the week.
On Sunday night, rival groups of anti-migrant demonstrators and counter-protesters faced off outside the hotel.
Two people, who worked as security guards at the hotel, were left bloodied and injured on July 13 after being attacked at a bus stop.
Police said the two victims then managed to make their way past the protest site into the hotel, where there was a significant policing presence, to get help.
A second incident took place on Tuesday 15 July with a man shouting racial abuse directed at the hotel, before later causing damage to the property.
Police arrested a man on suspicion of a racially aggravated public order offence and criminal damage, although he was later released on bail.
