Was it naive to think it would be a peaceful protest, people wondered after the riot at a hotel housing asylum seekers in Rotherham, where windows were smashed, police attacked and a fire escape briefly set ablaze with 250 people trapped inside.
The demonstration was to be held at noon on Sunday outside the Holiday Inn Express in Wath-upon-Dearne, known locally as Wath, a village north of Rotherham. The hotel is not a stranger to protests. It is contentious locally and had become the scene of anti-immigration outrage in the past – though there were few who anticipated what a terrifying turn Sunday would take.
