**BAD LANGUAGE WARNING**
Difficult filming conditions. Unfortunately, the police kept moving me on and standing in front of the camera.
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Info by Jennifer Scott from The Nottingham Post
Nottingham turned into a city of protest on Saturday when the English Defence League came to town and were confronted by anti-fascists.
The far-right protest group brought around 160 members to the city in order to march through and make their voices heard.
They held placards condemning the 'Islamification of the UK', chanted about the need to keep English culture and values from disappearing and shouted down the idea of Sharia law coming to the country.
But they weren't the only ones wanting to make a statement, as around 400 anti-fascist activists gathered for a counter protest to the planned march.
Although things began peacefully, it wasn't long before other anti-fascist protesters dressed in black and with their faces covered, ended up in an altercation with the police.
We saw one man and one woman held down on the floor by officers and then led away before the march had even started.
Over at The Company Inn Pub at Castle Wharf, members of the EDL from across the country were starting to gather. As well as people from Nottingham, there were members from Leicester, Grimsby, the North West and other parts of the country ready to take to the streets.
Shortly after 1.30pm, the march began, with songs about St George and a large show of police officers, riot vans and mounted cops surrounding them.
People outside of the march began shouting at the EDL, calling them "fascists", "Nazis" and "scum", with one person throwing a bottle of water at them, whilst EDL members shouted back and continued to sing their songs.
At the same time, more counter-protesters were gathering at the top of Friar Lane to confront the marchers as more police were called to keep the groups separated.
As the march came round the corner, there was more strong exchanges of words between the different supporters, a lot of pushing and shoving, and police trying hard to keep them apart.
Police set up two separate areas for the protesters, with a line of officers and metal barriers keeping them apart - as well as a large gap surrounding the Brian Clough statue.
Abuse was thrown from both sides. Some lighter chants, including "There are more of us than there are of you" from the anti-fascist contingent and a difficult-to-decipher shout from EDL members ending in a "ha, ha, ha". But it was a tense and angry atmosphere as both groups tried to be louder than one another.
The EDL gathered close to a bus stop on King Street to hear speeches from members, condemning FGM, denying claims of racism and claiming their right to peaceful protest.
One member said: "They call us Islamaphobic. We have no fear of Islam. We disagree with Islamic views on women's rights, children's rights and animal rights, but we do not fear Islam."
The shouts from both sides continued, the metal barriers were rattled, eggs and bottles flew through the air and officers in the middle kept their cool.
After, EDL members were put on buses to take them back to the train station around 4pm, and those who wanted to walk were escorted by around 20 officers, the crowds dispersed and the streets soon became what you would expect to see on a bustling Nottingham weekend.
Chief Inspector Andy Hall from Nottinghamshire Police said afterwards: "While not everyone will agree with the sentiment behind today's demonstration, Nottinghamshire Police does have an obligation to facilitate the right to a peaceful protest and we would also like to thank the majority of demonstrators on both sides who did behave responsibly."
Five arrests were made, but no reports of injury or assault were made.
By 5pm, the beach was re-opened, the bars opened their doors, and it was like nothing ever happened.
But it won't be the last time. A man known as Craig Leicester, who had previously refused to talk to the Post, came up at the end and said: "I will give you a quote. We are coming back. It won't be with liaison with the police, it will be to get this whole street."
