Getty Riots in Geldermalsen in the Netherlands led to the scrapping of a refugee centre

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Around 2,000 people joined in a demonstration against the proposed centre in the tiny town of Geldermalsen. The protest soon turned violent, and armed police fired warning shots into the air in a bid to calm the crowd.

But the demonstrators still left chaos behind, tearing down metal safety fences and hurling beer bottles. The protesters spent hours disrupting a town council meeting dedicated to planning the refugee centre. Plans were being floated to house 1,500 asylum-seekers in the town of 27,000.

The violence peaked when fireworks and bricks were thrown at assembled police officers. Authorities claimed a small group of out-of-towners were responsible for the protest getting out of hand.

Getty Rioters forced the town mayor into shelving the plan

Two police officers sustained minor injuries in the clash but nobody was seriously hurt. The demonstration, which took place late last month, was met with a wave on condemnation.

A minister in the country called the incident “un-Dutch” and said there had never been anything like it. Deputy justice minister Klaas Dijkhoff said: “This is not how we deal with each other in the Netherlands. This is unheard of.”

Getty Locals have tried to get building the centre back on the agenda, but with limited success

But, incredibly, the riot ended in a victory for the protesters. Little more than a week after the debris had been clear, the mayor of Geldermalsen said the plans had been cancelled.

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