Protestors against asylum hotels turned out in Hanley today, along with a counter-protest called 'Defend Refugees: Stop the Far Right'.

Divided by Trinity Street, shouts of "we are full, no more room" were hurled towards the counter-protestors outside the Best Western Stoke-on-Trent City Centre Hotel.

There were two police vans outside the hotel at the start of the demonstration with one incident seeing a woman from the asylum hotel protest dragged across the street by officers after she approached the counter-protestors.

Similar protests are being held around the UK today with more demonstrations planned for tomorrow in other areas. Staffordshire Police has confirmed no arrests were made.

Protestors started to gather at around 11am on Saturday. (Nub News)

Lori Addison-Simmons, from Abbey Hulton, was one of those who joined the asylum hotels protest, along with around 30 others. She believes the government is being "too weak and too soft" in stopping asylum seekers from coming to the UK in boats across the channel.

Speaking of the counter protestors, Lori said: "Probably the majority of them over there are decent people, we're not hating on them as people, but people are going to have different opinions all over the world. The fact is that they are blinkered."

She added: "It's our government which is failing them [the asylum seekers] and also failing us because they wouldn't be in this position if the government acted on stopping all this happening.

"Parents with kids are being kicked out of their homes to house illegal migrants. How is that right? It should be British first, so there is a lot wrong with this country and there is no money.

"Also the strain on the NHS now - hospitals can't cope - there aren't enough doctors and nurses and people are going abroad now because they don't want to work in it.

"Look on the map at how small our country is - we will all end up in the sea as there is no room. I have a 16-year-old daughter who is going to college soon and from what I have seen on the news, I am so scared for when she is walking home on dark nights. As a parent, it really does scare and worry me."

Staffordshire Police confirmed no arrests were made. (Nub News)

From both sides, some were open to the idea of speaking to those who held different opinions on immigration than they did. For others, this was the first anti-immigration protest they had attended.

Many of those on the anti-immigration side said immigration was the biggest issue in the UK right now whereas on the opposition side, where there were around 60 people, other issues such as billionaires, misinformation and the far-right were brought up.

Ollie Johnson works as a teacher at Newcastle College and was one of the loudest voices on the opposition side, leading chants with a loudspeaker from outside the hotel.

He said: "We are out here today because of the propaganda spread by billionaires and the government, a lot of people become very misguided and they are here to shout abuse at a hotel that is housing women and children.

"For me it is important to come out and show solidarity with those who are taking refuge in our city but also to try and get some conversations going - which is hard.

Some of the counter-protestors outside the Best Western hotel in Hanley. (Nub News)

"There is never going to be a perfect system but I'm never going to be angry at a place that is used to house children. We've seen in the windows looking out and waving at us so I would rather show solidarity with them rather than fly a flag I guess."

One woman, holding a sign reading 'HANDS OFF OUR KIDS' was also vocal on the other side of the street. She did not want to be named, but said: "The crime rate is going up. We've got no room, they wouldn't be in the hotels if we did. The government don't live like we do, they're not living in our city, they're not walking through our parks - it is not safe."

Others also raised concerns around safety and the protection of women and girls as being a key motivation for why they turned out to the protest.

Union Jacks and England flags were being flown. (Nub News)

The protests come as the Court of Appeal overturned a temporary injunction this week that would have blocked asylum seekers from being housed at the Bell Hotel in Epping, Essex. The Bell Hotel has become a focal point for the national debate around the use of asylum hotels this summer.

A spokesperson for Staffordshire Police said: "We acted on information about a planned protest in Hanley, today (Saturday 30 August) and officers have been deployed proactively in the area to keep people safe.

"We are working to balance the rights of the protestors against the rights of those affected by it, which includes minimising the impact of disruption to local businesses, the community and the road network.

"Our priority is to keep people safe. We can confirm that no arrests have been made at this time."