West Yorkshire Police were in Batley today (Saturday) as campaigning took place in relation to the forthcoming by-election.

Officers attended a demonstration and speeches which took place in the town centre from around 12pm.

It is believed there was a total of around 400 people took part in the planned demonstration and the event passed off largely without incident shortly after 2pm.

A total of three arrests were made – two for public order offences and a man was also arrested for possession of an offensive weapon.

Officers also assisted with two people who were believed to have suffered medical episodes.

Assistant Chief Constable Scott Bisset, who led the policing operation, said:

“I would like to pass on my gratitude to the local residents and visitors of Batley, partner agencies as well as all officers and staff, for their conduct and co-operation during the demonstration this afternoon, which only caused minor disruption for a short time in the town centre.

“We ensured we had appropriate resources including assistance from additional high visibility police officers, to minimise the disruption caused as much as possible.”

“Our overall aim was to ensure that the demonstrations remained peaceful and was effectively managed, so that the wider public were able to go about their business unaffected.”