Two police officers have been taken to hospital and two people arrested after a second night of disorder in Thetford, Norfolk. According to Norfolk Police, the trouble unfolded during what officers described as a second evening of unrest in the market town. The force released a statement setting out how the events developed and confirmed that arrests had been made in connection with the disturbance.
Police say that at around 9.30pm yesterday evening they deployed significant resources to the area. That response followed reports that people were trying to gain access to a residential property in the town. The scale of the police presence reflected concern about how the situation was escalating on the ground as the evening went on in Thetford.
According to the force, the incident came after a large crowd had been gathering outside the local police station. As the evening continued, people in the crowd became aggressive towards the police officers who were on duty. It was against that backdrop of a growing and increasingly hostile gathering that the confrontations with officers took place.
The aggression left two officers needing hospital treatment. Police said a female officer was seriously bitten, with the bite breaking the skin, while a male officer was struck with a rock during the disorder. A third police officer was also spat at while dealing with the disturbance, according to the statement released by Norfolk Police.
In response to the trouble, two arrests were made. Norfolk Police said the arrests were for public order offences, harassment and possession of an offensive weapon. The force indicated that officers had moved to detain those they believed were involved in the disorder as they worked to bring the situation under control in the town.
One of the men detained has since been charged. Police named him as 68-year-old Brian Thompson, who has been charged with possession of an offensive weapon. According to the force, the weapon in question was a wooden bat. The charge relates directly to the disorder that unfolded in Thetford during the night in question.
The disturbance was described as the second night of unrest and the second evening of anti-immigration protests in the market town. With two officers left in hospital and a man now charged, Norfolk Police set out the sequence of events in their statement as they continued to deal with the aftermath of the disorder and the response required from their officers.