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The surge in support for the far-right Casa Pound has raised a few eyebrows in the Roman seaside suburb of Ostia where its members are accused of beating up left-wing activists.

Around 400 plain-clothes police officers were on duty yesterday to ensure the local election passed peacefully after a series of violent incidents during the campaign.

Election officials drafted in army units to escort the ballot boxes back for the count.

Casa Pound, which wants to limit migration and introduce extensive public welfare programmes, failed to make the run-off but hopes to use its strong result from the first round as a platform for next year’s election.