Rocks and bottles used as missiles - what happened in night of violence on Plymouth's streets

• Watch the full report from ITV News reporter Jacquie Bird was at the scene

Six people were arrested after officers were hurt during violent clashes on the streets of Plymouth.

Two demonstrations were planned in Plymouth city centre from around 7pm on Monday 5 August - one from a right wing group and one anti-racism rally.

But what started as a peaceful protest quickly descended into violence.

It comes after days of unrest and violence in towns and cities across England. There have been more than 370 arrests nationwide so far.

In Plymouth, police were first deployed to the Guildhall at around 3.30pm.

At the start there was a small group of right wing demonstrators, obvious only because of their Union Flags.

A group of peaceful protestors with Stand Up To Racism placards then gathered on one side of Royal Parade. On the other, the opposing group began shouting 'Stop The Boats'.

To begin with there were chants and counter chants between the two sides, but then the two groups surged together.

Missiles were thrown from either side and police in riot gear started to more forcefully hold people back and move people on.

Police were seen going in with riot shields and dogs. Outside The Minster Church of St Andrew, a battle began. Bottles and rocks were thrown.

ITV News witnessed one police officer, obviously injured, being helped away from the front line.

Another officer simply said "this is not a protest, this is violence" as he walked past news crews.

As night fell, the violence continued. Fireworks were set off. One pub landlord said windows had been smashed.

In a statement, Devon and Cornwall Police said people there were "intent" on committing public order or criminal offences.

They said the levels of violence across the city saw four officers sustain injuries caused by items being thrown. While most were minor, one officer has a suspected broken jaw.

Six people were arrested and multiple members of the public were also injured, with two taken to hospital.

In a statement, the force said: "Our approach to this operation was to enable peaceful protests, but people who were intent on committing public order or criminal offences, have and will be dealt with robustly. This is the style of policing that we have delivered and what our communities expect.

"Violence will not be tolerated, hate will not be tolerated, and we will continue to work with our partners to keep the people of Devon, Cornwall, and the Isles of Scilly safe and reduce anti-social behaviour.

"We will continue to take positive action against individuals in breach of the law and have carried out arrests for a range of public order offences and assaults following today's events.

"We will also be following up on post investigative enquiries throughout the coming days."

The Chair of the Devon and Cornwall Police Federation, Nick Jones, told ITV News the events were "unprecedented" and unlike anything he has seen in his 37-year policing career.

"It's an intimidating place to be. We see snapshots of officers standing behind shields in their protective equipments.

The soundbite the general public generally get is a 15 to 37 second clip but in reality those officers have been stood in those positions protecting the frontline and taking threats or violence for many hours until they can be relieved or we can rotate staff accordingly."

Officers from Devon and Cornwall Police were called on to support the policing of the violence which unfolded in Bristol on Saturday.

When asked whether the force is adequately resourced to police any future protest, Mr Jones said:""Our officers are professionals and trained to a high degree and yes, we respond to mutual aid requests as we did for our colleagues in Avon and Somerset and Dorset but this is what officers train for.

"This is the real-time live situation, clearly training is of a high level. I don't think many of our officers involved last night would have witnessed such a high level of violence aimed towards them."

The city's leaders have responded to last night's events, thanking police for their efforts and reassuring the community of Plymouth that violent protestors will be brought to justice.

Jemima Laing, Deputy Leader of Plymouth City Council, said: "Now the night is almost behind us and the crowds have dispersed from the city centre, we'd like to thank our partners at Devon and Cornwall Police for their incredible work on the ground to keep people safe.

"I remain incredibly angry on behalf of Plymouth that so many people from outside our city felt emboldened to come here and cause disruption and unrest. Thuggery on tour is not acceptable.

"From first light we will assess the damage done to our city centre and council officers will start the process of repairing the things that are broken and cleaning up the area.

"We know that our communities will be feeling understandably concerned and we would like to reassure our residents that we will do all we can to help bring any violent protestors to justice.

"We must not allow ourselves to be divided by racists who are capitalising on an awful tragedy with lies and misinformation.

"Plymouth is a united city. One that embraces and celebrates diversity and all communities. Our strength is that we come together, time after time."

""We are incredibly aware that some of our communities, especially minority communities, are anxious about discrimination, abuse, anti-Muslim sentiment and racism and this should be something that worries us all.

"Everyone has the right to feel safe and we will continue to work with the Police and community leaders to make sure that Plymouth remains a welcoming and safe city."

In a video published on X, MP for Plymouth Sutton and Devonport, Luke Pollard said: "There is absolutely no place for violence on our streets, there is no place for hate on our streets.

"The diversity of our city makes us stronger, it doesn't make us weaker.

"There is no place for hate in Plymouth."