Arrests were made after a female police officer was “seriously bitten” and crowds attempted to storm homes linked to asylum seekers during a second night of disorder in a market town.
Two men were arrested after two police officers were taken to hospital in Thetford, Norfolk, after anti-immigration protests on Wednesday.
It was the second night of disorder following incidents on Tuesday night where properties were damaged by having windows smashed and fences broken, and people attempted to break into a residential property, police said.
Increased police powers were granted on Thursday evening, allowing officers to direct people to remove face coverings or leave the area if they commit or “may commit” anti-social behaviour.
Those who refuse to remove a face covering when asked may be arrested, Norfolk Police added.
The force said “significant police resources” were deployed to Thetford on Wednesday night to maintain public safety after a large group of people gathered on Clover Way.
Officers responded to reports that people were “trying to gain access to a residential property”.
Group members “became physically aggressive towards officers – two were taken to hospital after a male officer was struck with a rock and a female officer was seriously bitten, breaking the skin”, police said.
“A third officer was also spat at.”
Reform UK’s deputy leader Richard Tice claimed the disorder is a sign “local people are furious that large numbers of illegal migrants are being dumped into their locality”.
He told Times Radio: “Those local communities should be allowed to express that concern and anxiety without instantly being smeared and labelled as being bigots in some way.
“That is very different to any form of violence.”
Windows on a terraced house on that street appeared to be smeared with broken eggs on Thursday.
A marked police car was parked near to the street, which is close to a primary school, and uniformed officers were seen at the rear of a property.
A senior police officer has condemned the violence directed at officers during a second night of disorder at Thetford, which left two officers injured.
Significant police resources were deployed to the town to maintain public safety after a large group gathered on Clover Way. pic.twitter.com/eBLvFkLmRZ
— Norfolk Police (@NorfolkPolice) August 6, 2026
The police response was criticised by some local people.
A resident of Clover Way, who asked not to be named, said that at around 9.30pm on Wednesday “lots of young boys … came up on bikes and chucked eggs at the house”.
The largely-seated protest started “peaceful” until extra officers arrived and formed a line, she said.
Then “it started to get a little bit rowdy” and “people took a step forward towards the police”.
No-one tried to get into the house, she said, adding that police “started pepper-spraying people” including “a lady in a wheelchair”.
There were “a few young idiots picking up stones, lobbing them at a police car.”
“They brought a riot van down and blocked the front of the house,” she said, adding that officers got out batons, made arrests and told people to leave.
She said that her mother had previously seen six people get dropped off at the property, believed to be used to house asylum seekers, in a taxi “with bin bags”.
“This is a very quiet estate, nothing happens here,” she said.
A man who lives nearby, who asked not to be named, also criticised the police response and claimed officers pepper-sprayed a woman in a mobility scooter.
He said: “That’s disgusting when we’ve got police going round like that.”
Some young children threw stones at the windows, he said.
Scott Hussey, a Reform UK councillor for the Brecks ward for Norfolk County Council, said the street was divided with 30 officers on one side and about 80 “people from the town” on the other.
“Many people who had just come out of their houses to watch.”
It was “mainly peaceful” when he was there, he said, adding: “I saw some people throwing eggs at the building.
“For most of the time it was a sit-down protest.”
The town’s MP, Terry Jermy, said the “ugly scenes in Thetford over the past few days have been difficult to watch and are deeply concerning”.
My statement regarding the recent unrest in Thetford. pic.twitter.com/XPz6OHYrlS
— Terry Jermy MP (@TerryJermyMP) August 6, 2026
Mr Jermy has previously called on the Home Office to end “secrecy and confusion” around plans to house more asylum seekers in former military barracks – including at RAF Barnham near Thetford.
The MP, whose South West Norfolk constituency abuts RAF Barnham, said he had “made clear my strong objections to the use of MOD Barnham to accommodate asylum seekers”.
Norfolk Police said two arrests were made on Wednesday night for offences including public order, harassment and possession of an offensive weapon.
One man aged in his 40s remains in custody.
Brian Thompson, 68, of Fairfields, Thetford, has been charged with possession of an offensive weapon, namely a wooden bat.
He has been released on bail and is due to appear at Norwich Magistrates’ Court on August 25.
Tuesday night saw officers called to multiple Thetford addresses after groups smashed windows and attempted to enter properties.
A small group gained access to one property, forced out a resident and stole their mobile phone, the force said.
A man aged in his 30s, who was arrested on Wednesday following Tuesday’s incidents on suspicion of a public order offence, has since been released and issued with a conditional caution.
