
German police in the western city of Cologne used water cannon on Sunday on left-wing radicals protesting against a rally held by about 600 supporters of the xenophobic 'Hooligans Against Salafists' (HOGESA) group.

The roughly 10,000 counter-demonstrators vastly outnumbered those at the HOGESA rally itself where speakers called for Germany's borders to be closed and a ban on building mosques.

Germany is struggling to cope with the arrival of an expected 800,000 to one million refugees and migrants this year, many from war zones in the Middle East, and politicians have expressed concern about a potential rise in right-wing radicalism.

German police sprayed left wing protesters with water cannon after they came out to demonstrate against a neo-Nazi rally in Cologne

Some 10,000 counter-demonstrators took to the streets to oppose the Hogesa (Hooligans Against Salafists) group earlier today

Some of the football hooligan demonstrators gave Hitler salutes as they chanted during their ill-tempered protest in Cologne

The two rival groups were separated by approximately 3,500 police officers in the centre of Cologne earlier today

At the event in Cologne, scuffles broke out between police and left-wingers before water cannon were turned on to separate the two sides, said police.

After outbreaks of violence at a similar event last year which left several people injured, police stepped up their presence and sent some 3,500 officers to the western city.

HOGESA is a group of self-styled football hooligans and includes right-wing militants and neo-Nazis. Security forces have warned about increased street violence between rival groups.

Last week, the anti-Islam grassroots PEGIDA (Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamisation of the West) group held its biggest rally in months in the eastern city of Dresden, spurred on by the refugee crisis.

Police have warned about an increased risk of racist attacks on politicians helping refugees and say some 285 offences against asylum seekers' shelters had been reported in the third quarter alone, compared with 198 for the whole of last year.

The concerns about growing radicalism coincide with a drop in popular support for conservative Chancellor Angela Merkel for her handling of the crisis and with a rise in the popularity of the anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany (AfD).

The HOGESA march was organised by Dominik Horst Roeseler, pictured, to warn against the number of refugees arriving in Germany

Riot police tried to keep the rival groups apart during the tense standoff in Cologne earlier this afternoon

Hannes Ostendorf from the far-right band 'Kategorie C' performed for the neo-Nazis during today's ill-tempered demonstration

Neo Nazis, pictured, lit flares and made insulting gestures to police while protesting against the influx of refugees from Syria and Iraq

The neo-Nazi group were corralled by police into a small area in order for them to hold their protest in the centre of Colognes

Some protesters broke through the cordons and were arrested as they tried to fight with their rivals outside the Lanxess-Arena in Cologne

This far right protester has the legend 'Sons of Germany' printed on the back of his bulging hoodie surrounding a nazi-style cross

Far-left demonstrators dramatically outnumbered the neo-Nazis during today's protest and counter protest in downtown Cologne

The German neo-Nazis, pictured, claimed that their demonstration was showing their opposition to 'Islamic extremism'

Neo-nazis and members of the German footballing hooligan scene joined together for their demonstration earlier today