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Asylum seekers who were inside a Rotherham hotel when it was attacked by far-right rioters are frightened but glad to be alive, an activist who attempted to guard the entrance said.
Phil Turner, from Stand up to Racism Rotherham, helped organise a counter-demonstration of around 150 people at the Holiday Inn Express on Sunday in support of the refugees who were trapped inside.
The violence in the South Yorkshire town took place amid widespread rioting across the UK in recent days, in the wake of last week’s stabbings in Southport.
Anti-racism campaigners, who were surrounding the entrance to the hotel, had to retreat under two hours into the demonstration when it became clear they were significantly outnumbered by far-right rioters.
Mr Turner, 72, knew two of the asylum seekers from previous demonstrations of support at the hotel near Sheffield, which has been housing migrants for three years.
Referring to one of the asylum seekers who he knows well, Mr Turner said: “I’ve had a message through another friend to say that he was very pleased to see us there, but that it was a terrifying experience. He’s just glad to be alive really.
“He’s got injuries from before and he has to walk aided by sticks. When the fire was set [to the hotel], he had to put a plastic bag around his face because he couldn’t breathe because of the fumes. It was a terrifying experience for all of them.”
Speaking about his experience trying to defend the hotel from rioters, Mr Turner added: “We held the line for over an hour. It was quite clear that there were more and more of the rioters arriving. We weren’t going to get any bigger - we were 150-strong. It looked like we were going to be attacked from the side and the front.”
He estimated more than 1,000 far-right rioters turned up to attack the hotel. A small group of them eventually succeeded in getting inside the hotel and ran through the corridors shouting at asylum seekers, according to witnesses.
“After discussing things with the police we had to make an orderly retreat. We had to make that decision because it was pretty frightening and we had people who were elderly. We weren’t street fighters and we had to keep people safe,” Mr Turner explained.
Describing the retreat, he said: “It wasn’t easy but we managed to get away. Someone got hit by a full can of beer on the head, but it was nothing more than a glancing blow. If we’d stayed it could have been more serious. It’s pretty frightening to have that coming towards you.
“Somebody yesterday could have been killed, and that may happen if things continue,” he warned.
Mr Turner, who has been an anti-racism activist for many decades, said: “I think this is unprecedented in this country - to see such a wide-ranging far-right movement. I organised against the National Front in the seventies and we need to build a bigger movement now to demonstrate unity against those who will divide us.”
His comments have been echoed by anti-fascist charity Hope not Hate, which has labelled the riots across the country “possibly the most widespread outbreak of far-right violence in the post-war period”.
Southport, Hartlepool, Rotherham, Sunderland, Hull, Stoke, Liverpool, Middlesbrough and Tamworth have all seen rioting and arson in recent days.
Almost 400 arrests have been made over the past week following the unrest. Police chiefs said they were working “round the clock to identify those involved and continue to apprehend those responsible”.
