Day Tommy Robinson came to town - and the violence that erupted

M.E.N. REVEALS 24 PEOPLE HAVE BEEN CONVICTED FOR ROLES IN SHAMEFUL DISORDER

A YOUNG girl stood on a road screamed out in terror as a group of up to 80 men wearing face masks ran towards her.

A police officer was told by a gang to 'get out of your car you f****** b*** before it was smashed up as she desperately called for back-up trapped inside.

Eggs, bottles, bricks, a claw hammer and even a pair of scissors were thrown by opposing groups at each other and the police, as officers battled to hold their massed lines.

As racist taunts and vile chants filled the air, GMP cars and residents' homes were damaged.

Several police officers were hit by missiles which rained down over their heads - one was struck on the head by a brick and another knocked to the ground by the force of a firework hurled in anger. An innocent woman was punched and kicked as she tried to stop two men fighting.

Another victim of the appalling violence, a man caught up in the early Saturday evening terror, was attacked in a garden. Covered in blood, he was saved by police officers wielding batons who ran to his aid to drag him to safety after they were alerted by bystanders.

It was the day Tommy Robinson came to Oldham and now, almost five years on, more than 20 men have been brought to justice. Violence flared when the founder of the English Defence League visited the town's Limeside estate on May 18, 2019.

The M.E.N. can reveal 24 people have now been taken to court and convicted for their roles in the shameful disorder that followed his arrival. The legal process has been lengthy and complex, but sentences have now been handed down.

Many hundreds of people gathered as Mr Robinson, real name Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, arrived to make a speech on a stage as he campaigned to become an MEP in the European Elections of that year.

There was an organised 'counter demonstration' by a group calling itself the Muslim Defence League.