Six arrested after Stamford Hill synagogue attack Published duration 22 March 2015

image caption One man was punched in the face during the attack

Six people have been arrested after a group forced its way into a synagogue in what police have described as an "anti-Semitic" incident.

Police said the drunk men had just left a nearby party and tried to get into the synagogue in Stamford Hill, north London, in the early hours of Sunday.

One man was punched in the face as he tried to stop them.

The six were held for public order offences and assault. Police said one man had made an anti-Semitic comment.

image caption Rabbi Maurice Davis said the attack was "more anti-social than anti-Semitic"

A Metropolitan Police spokesman said a number of people entered the synagogue on Craven Park Road, but they were removed shortly afterwards by security staff.

"The incident is being treated as an anti-Semitic incident, due to remarks made by one of the group," said the Met spokesman.

"At this early stage, there is no suggestion that this was a far-right or extremist attack but rather the completely unacceptable actions of a drunken group."

'Increased patrols'

Four men and two women were arrested at the scene but police are looking for anyone else involved in the incident.

Rabbi Maurice Davis, of the Ahavas Torah synagogue, told the BBC: "I think this incident was more anti-social than anti-Semitic."

He said that Stamford Hill was a safe place to live for Jews, and there was a good social cohesion in the Haringey borough.

Insp Jonathan Waterfield said: "We are investigating to establish the full circumstances of the incident and to identify anyone else involved in the disturbance who has not yet been arrested.

"We have also increased police patrols in the Stamford Hill area to provide reassurance to the community."

The man who was punched was treated at the scene but did not require hospital treatment.