Racists have attacked a Bolton mosque on the eve of the mobilisation by the English Defence League in Bolton tomorrow.
Four people with knives jumped out of a car and attacked people coming out of Friday prayers at the Makka mosque in Grecian Crescent, near Bolton university. They also targeted activists leafleting for the anti-fascist protest. No one is believed to have been hurt and all four were arrested.
Shortly before 2.15pm on Friday 19 March 2010, police at a mosque on Grecian Crescent received a report of a man with a knife. A local man was arrested on suspicion of possessing a bladed article and breaking into a vehicle.
Sergeant Rachel Bedford said: “Two men noticed a man trying to break into a car some 500 yards away from the mosque, detained him and presented him to officers.
“This man was in no way linked to the English Defence League protest in Bolton tomorrow. We understand that there are heightened concerns in communities about this protest, and in an effort to reassure communities we have stepped up our patrols.”