Hundreds gather again at Essex asylum hotel in weekend of anti-immigrant protests

Protests at Bell hotel in Epping for fifth time on Sunday as others demonstrated in Norfolk and London

Hundreds of people gathered outside a hotel in Epping on Sunday for the fifth time to demonstrate over the premises being used to house asylum seekers, as protests spread to other hotels over the weekend.

A large police presence containing officers from multiple forces restricted contact between anti- and pro-immigrant protesters, with Essex police saying restrictions were necessary after what it described as repeated serious disruption, violence and harm to the community since the first demonstration took place on 13 July.