A 65-year-old vicar has reportedly been assaulted by far-right protesters whilst praying at the side of a rally on Sunday.

Vicar of the Beacon Church, Middlesborough, Stephen Sutton, told Premier Chrisitan Radio: “A 70-year-old man, one of our town centre vicars, felt like he needed to go to the other side of the road from the protest and pray over it.

“He was slammed against a wall. I spoke with him this morning, and he was quite shaken up by the whole experience.”

Members of the Beacon spent Monday morning cleaning the streets, after riots

“It was horrible,” Stephen told Premier, “I saw videos of [protestors] setting up a roadblock, and checking cars to see if the people in them were white before letting them through.”

The Prime Minister held an emergency COBRA meeting this morning, after six days of protests across the country, sparked after the Southport stabbings.

In an address to the nation, Sir Keir Starmer said those involved would “regret” engaging in “far-right thuggery”, and “face the full force of the law”.

Twelve police officers were injured in Rotherham. In Tamworth, a mob gathered outside a Holiday Inn thought to be hosting asylum seekers, smashing windows, lighting petrol bombs and attempting to gain entry. A police officer at the scene suffered a broken arm.

Formerly the head of the Crown Prosecution Service, Keir Starmer has enacted a legal provision to allow courts to sit for 24 hours to try those charged. Over 60 people have been jailed ahead of their court appearances in connection with the protests. The youngest to appear in the dock was just 14.

“This doesn’t represent the vast majority of our community,” said Stephen Sutton.

“We are praying for peace, and for unity, and for healing – and for those who will be scared. There are a lot of people in the town centre who will have been very scared last night.”