Thousands of people descended on central London for the Million Mask March which saw police make 53 arrests.

Walking from Trafalgar Square, where the march started, protesters holding flares chanted "Whose streets? Our Streets!" as they made their way to Westminster.

Clad in Guy Fawkes masks, thousands of supporters of Anonymous, the anarchic hacking collective, carried placards as they made their way through the Capital while scores of police officers maintained a tight perimeter around them.

Scotland Yard said there had been 53 arrests, including three for possession of an offensive weapon, 14 for drugs and two for the non-removal of a face mask.

"Whilst the majority of those taking part were peaceful, there were pockets of disorder and a number of fireworks thrown which thankfully did not result in injury," Scotland Yard said.

At one point the group claimed responsibility for crashing the Met's website.

Fireworks were set off in the crowd near the Houses of Parliament and bottles were thrown.

Police had warned "masked criminals seeking to run amok" that they will be arrested if the protest turns violent.

People took to social media to say they had witnessed police carrying out a large number of stop and searches.