Around 120 protestors clashed over plans to lay a wreath at Colchester war memorial yesterday afternoon.
Members of the English Defence League (EDL) intended to place the wreath on the memorial in Cowdray Crescent, in memory of Drummer Lee Rigby, who was killed in Woolwich.
But anti-fascist demonstrators turned out in protest to the EDL and blocked the memorial, causing a three-hour stand off between the two groups. The incident occurred between 1.50pm and 4.45pm.
A spokesman for Essex Police said a considerable police presence had been deployed and had managed to keep the two groups apart.
He added: “Two arrests were made for public order offences but apart from that, there were no major incidents.”
About 40 officers wearing crowd control gear attended the incident.
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