Hundreds march in Blackburn in protest over Gaza

About 200 people took part in a march through Blackburn as a protest over events in Gaza.

Roads were closed in the town centre between 13:30 and 3:30 GMT along the route from Bangor Street Community Centre to Corporation Park.

The march, which was organised by the Muslim Defence League, went peacefully with no arrests, police said.

Eight days of violence claimed the lives of at least 158 people in Gaza and six in Israel earlier in November.

'Help and tolerance'

Supt Jon Puttock said: "Our top priority was the safety of the community, people visiting Blackburn on the day and the demonstrators themselves, as well as ensuring as little disruption as possible for businesses on what was a busy day for the town.

"I would like to thank the local community for their help and tolerance during the events and the lead up to them.

"The police have no powers to ban a peaceful public assembly or protest, which is what has been requested.

"What we can do is impose conditions or restrictions on the demonstration such as where and when it takes place, for how long and how many people, which is what we have done in this case."