Fears of violence on Wycombe’s high street at the weekend gave way to debate between locals with different ideologies, divided on the motivation behind protests seen across the UK over the last few weeks.

Shop owners and stallholders in the town delayed or abandoned opening altogether on Saturday (August 3) ahead of a planned ‘Enough is Enough’ protest that risked bringing the violence seen in cities and towns including Southport and Hartlepool to our doorstep.

The demonstrations were sparked by a knife attack at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in Southport on July 29 which left three girls dead and triggered an influx of misinformation about the attacker’s identity online.

In Wycombe, disorderly scenes of cars set on fire and bricks thrown at officers seemed a world away, however – with the calm of the high street on Saturday afternoon more akin to the defiant counter-protests held across the country on Wednesday night, where locals fought back against what has been described as a “far-right exploitation” of the Southport murders to “stoke division” in communities.

Attendees donning signs reading ‘Refugees welcome’, ‘Stop the far right’ and ‘Dads against racism’ suggested that far-right extremists felt “disempowered” after Labour’s election victory and were “trying to fight back” by instigating violence against the establishment.

Meanwhile, those signalling allegiance to the protest’s cause said they believed its roots were in “protecting our children from extremism” and the dangers posed by illegal immigration – but disavowed the mindless violence harnessed by a “vocal minority”, acknowledging that “ultimately, we all have to get along”.