Police in Britain have arrested nine people after clashes with anti-immigrant ultra-right demonstrators in the central England town of Dudley.
The West Midlands Police said they had deployed numerous officers to prevent any clashes between anti-Muslim demonstrators and those from a counter-rally organized by Unite Against Fascism (UAF).
Two-thousand supporters of the far-right English Defense League or EDL were protesting against the construction of a mosque in the English Midlands.
Scuffles broke out with police when EDL supporters broke down wire fences and ran through streets close to the site for the planned mosque.
Demonstrators started fighting their own stewards who were trying to calm them down as they attacked the fences penning them in.
The police made five arrests for possession of offensive weapon, two for public disorder and two for criminal damage.
The mosque is planned for Hall Street near the center of Dudley with details on the design and positioning of the building due for submission by July 2011.
In July last year the council lost a high court challenge to prevent the planning application being given the go ahead.
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