The Northamptonshire Local Resilience Forum (LRF) has thanked communities in the county for their support and solidarity during the events of recent days after a recent protest.

The statement came after a week which saw Northampton the site of protests on Wednesday (07/08). A list of sites circulated by a far-right blogger on Telegram had suggested Northampton was to be the site of a protest, which saw a larger group of anti-racist protestors gather at the same location.

The main area took place around Kettering Road and Clare Street on the edge of Northampton Town Centre.

Three people were arrested for public order offences, but the event passed off peacefully, and as none of the original protesters turned up, the crowd that gathered eventually dispersed without incident.

Reflecting on the week, Northamptonshire’s RLF acknowledged things had been a challenging week but that they were pleased at co-operation between all partners in managing the situation.

The forum is made up of Northamptonshire Police, Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue Service, West Northamptonshire Council, North Northamptonshire Council, Northamptonshire Health Foundation Trust, University Hospitals of Northamptonshire, Northamptonshire Integrated Care Board and the East Midlands Ambulance Service.

The statement read, “This has been a difficult and challenging week for our communities across Northamptonshire, in particular Northampton, where protests, thankfully peaceful, took place on Wednesday evening.

“We have seen a huge amount of cooperation between all the emergency services, local authority, health partners and the community, and it can’t be underestimated how much work went into making sure the risk to the public was minimised.

“We are immensely grateful to our communities who came together to work with us, and for the support they showed our police and emergency services as they worked hard to ensure public safety. There was some really positive engagement with all those who came together to show their solidarity.

“We would also like to thank all the police officers, firefighters, council, health and other colleagues for their professionalism, dedication and commitment, throughout this challenging week and beyond, in helping to keep our county and those who live and work here safe.

“Alongside the extensive policing operation, firefighters and community safety colleagues were out in the community giving advice and any reassurance they could to residents and businesses, and council teams were on the ground making sure the environment was debris free and as safe as possible.

“Organisations being able to respond and support communities in a speedy, joined up way is what people have every right to expect, and it was good to see people working together in this way.

“We know residents will still be feeling concerned in the light of this week’s events and the ongoing national picture but want to reassure them all partners are continuing to work together doing everything possible to keep our communities safe.”