‘We’ll track down Sheffield EDL offenders’

South Yorkshire Police admitted officers had faced a “considerable challenge” in separating the EDL and Unite Against Fascism supporters in Sheffield on Saturday, and both groups had to be contained to prevent clashes.

More than 1,000 officers were drafted in, and the arrests were made for offences including assault and public order. Police are now trawling through social media networks and studying surveillance camera footage which was taken at the weekend.

The EDL organised the protest after supporters of the far-right group were prevented from placing flowers on the war memorial in memory of murdered soldier Lee Rigby in an earlier demo on June 1. Despite the volatile scenes on Saturday, EDL supporters placed wreaths and flowers at the Cenotaph.

Superintendent Colin McFarlane said: “The gatherings in the city centre presented officers with a range of challenges to keep the peace.

“It is a measure of the success of the operation that only five people have been arrested for relatively minor offences and only one person receiving a slight injury. However, police will be reviewing CCTV footage and social media to establish if any other offences have been recorded.”