HUNDREDS of members of the Sikh community protested outside Luton Police Station last night following allegations that a young woman had been sexually assaulted.
Scores of Sikh men and women converged on the Buxton Road station at around 9pm after the allegations were made following an incident on Monday.
Protestors, many of them from outside of Luton, blocked one side of Stuart Street with concerns over police handling of the incident.
Several English Defence League supporters joined the Sikhs in protest.
Representatives from the Sikh community were invited into the police station to discuss their concerns, but police, some with police dogs, eventually guarded the entrance to the station and herded protestors away from Buxton Road.
The group were eventually escorted back to the Dallow Road temple and eventually dispersed before midnight.
Police had met with members of the community at the Gurdwara in Dallow Road earlier in the day to address their concerns.
Officers say that they are continuing to work with members of the community to ensure that they are kept up-to-date.
Beds Police Chief Supt Mike Colbourne said: “Obviously we have a duty to facilitate lawful, peaceful protest and if people have concerns it is right they are aired responsibly. Our priority first and foremost, however, is with the victim in this matter and her family.”
A man has since been charged with common assault following the incident and will appear at Luton Magistrates Court this morning.