A German police leader has said the four migrants who attacked people in a Bavarian town last weekend have a 'deep contempt for our state and the people who live here'.

Rainer Wendt, the boss of a police union, said the four young attackers should 'only return to freedom when they set foot back in their homeland'.

The teenagers, from Iran, Syria and Afghanistan, are accused of leaving 12 people, aged between 13 and 42, injured after random attacks in the town of Amberg last Saturday.

The attacks have prompted members of a neo-Nazi linked party to set up a vigilante street patrol.

A migrant gang left 12 people aged 13 to 42 injured after carrying out random attacks and hurling racist abuse in a German city, it has been reported. Pictures have emerged showing three of four suspects arrested by police

Four teenagers - from Iran , Syria and Afghanistan - are said to have targeted passers-by in the Bavarian city of Amberg. Pictured: One of four suspects arrested by police

Union leader Mr Wendt told Bild: 'It can't be that we only call it a hunt when it's right-wing extremists.

'We're always told the attackers' motives are not known. I'll tell you their motive: It's a deep contempt for our state and the people who live here.

'The four perpetrators can only return to freedom when they set foot back in their homeland.'

Members of the National Democratic Party, a fringe group linked to neo-Nazis, posted pictures on Facebook of members wearing red vests to create 'safe zones'.

Bavaria's state premier Markus Söder condemned the attacks in Amberg, saying people who abused Germany's hospitality had to leave the country.

But he said right-wing groups were trying to 'abuse' the situation, saying Bavaria would deal with it 'calmly and systematically'.

The mayor of Amberg, Michael Cerny, also said he was 'shocked' that the neo-Nazi group were marching on his streets.

'I can understand the insecurity seen in some of the reactions of some Ambergers, but the hatred and the threats of violence from all over the country go way too far,' he said.

A migrant gang left 12 people aged 13 to 42 injured after carrying out random attacks and hurling racist abuse in the German city of Amberg (pictured), it has been reported

The violence broke out at about 6.30pm on Saturday at Amberg station.

A 13-year-old, named as Nimo M was kicked in the stomach before a 29-year-old, identified as a landscape gardener named Marco S. was hit in the face.

In another incident, a 17-year-old girl was reportedly branded a 'hooker before her companions were struck in the face when they tried to intervene.

One eyewitness said a man was pushed down a flight of stairs at the train station.

Another teenager described how racist abuse was hurled at a friend before three people in the group were chased and attacked.

A man who tried to help them was also beaten up, said the teenager, who needed hospital treatment for bruises and concussion.

The attacks have revived a simmering debate over immigration, integration and crime that has flared since the mass influx of over one million asylum seekers since 2015.

Germany's Interior Minister Horst Seehofer (pictured) said he was 'dismayed' by the events in Amberg adding: 'If asylum seekers commit violent crimes, they must leave our country'

Angela Merkel's decision to open Germany's doors has weakened her authority and contributed to the rise of the populist Alternative for Germany (AfD), who are now represented in the national parliament and all 16 state assemblies.

AfD politician Georg Pazderski said: 'When will there be enough victims that left-wing politicians change their minds?'.

Interior Minister Horst Seehofer, who has been harshly critical of Merkel's liberal stance on immigration, called for speedy expulsions of immigrants who break the law.

German media reported the suspects included an Afghan man with an ongoing asylum request and three rejected asylum seekers.

They were said to be an Iranian who has no passport, an Afghan who is underage, and another Afghan with an ongoing appeal against his deportation order.

A spokeswoman for Mrs Merkel on Wednesday condemned the assaults in Amberg, as well as a xenophobic attack by a 50-year-old unemployed German man who steered his car into groups of immigrants on New Year's Eve.

One of those attacks, in the city of Bottrop, left eight people injured including a four-year-old Afghan boy and a ten-year-old Syrian girl.