Protesters shouted ‘get them out’ at Merseyside asylum seeker hotel, court told

Police officers at the scene of a protest outside the Suites Hotel, Knowsley, on 10 February last year. Photograph: none

Protesters surrounded a hotel in Merseyside housing asylum seekers, shouting “get them out” as police vehicles were set on fire and officers injured, a court has heard.

A video on social media purporting to show a male asylum seeker asking a 15-year-old local girl for a kiss had created “ill feeling” in Kirkby, Knowsley, in the run-up to the demonstration on 10 February last year, Liverpool crown court heard on Tuesday.