Worried shopkeepers stand united as the shutters come down in Kettering Road: 'We have to protect our town'

Kettering Road, one of the most diverse streets in Northampton, was today (Wednesday) left bracing itself for a far-right protest scheduled for 8pm this evening when masked thugs threatened to descend.

A counter ‘Refugees Welcome’ protest was planned to take place an hour earlier at 7pm.

The planned demonstration against immigration has prompted significant concern among business owners and residents, many of whom are taking precautionary measures in light of recent similar protests turning violent across the country.

Shopkeepers have expressed their unease, with several businesses opting to close early and board up their premises. The atmosphere was one of palpable anxiety as the community prepares for potential unrest.

Jan, who works at Planet Pizza and is originally from Afghanistan, shared his fears. He said: “Like everyone, it’s a bit scary. We have a very good community here in Northampton. We never had any trouble like this while I’ve been living in this town the last 19 years. This is the first time. It’s very shocking. They’re breaking their own country, their own towns. It’s scary. They’re crazy, stupid people. It doesn’t make sense.

"I don’t feel safe. We’re having to think, are they going to attack us.”

Jan continued: “I will stay here tonight. You have to stay. We have to look after each other. When we’re all together they can’t do anything. If we split up they can do anything. This is like my country, this is my town, this is my home. We have to protect our town. This is very important to us to protect our town, the public, our neighbours. It’s very scary. Very shocking. I hope things are going to cool down.”

He added: “We’re working here, not making any trouble, paying taxes, insurance, everything. They say they don’t have a job, that Asians took their jobs. No man that’s a lie.”

The owner of Costcutter said: “I’ve never seen anything like this. Never a problem. It’s wrong. They shouldn't do this to anybody. I’m nervous. We’re closing early at 5pm, we normally close at 2am.”

Khaled, another shopkeeper from Afghanistan, added: “We’re scared and worried. Normally we close at 8pm but now we’re closing at 1.30pm. We’re not taking any risks. We’ve lost business, we’ve lost food. It’s scary. We’ve never experienced anything like this before. We’ll come back tomorrow morning and see what happens tonight. If it’s bad then we won’t come back tomorrow, we’ll stay home. Police told us to put the shutters down. It feels horrible, It doesn’t matter what religion, what country you’re from, we’re here in peace.”

Heyford Books' owner reported taking precautionary steps as advised by the police. He said: “We’re boarding up as police advised us it was the best thing to do. They told us to be cautious. It’s a case of wait and see now. I’m born and bred Northampton I’ve never been through anything like this before. I don’t think anybody know what’s going to happen. We’ve done what we can [to keep the shop safe].”

Another local shopkeeper shared their distress: “All the shops are closing. They’ve created fear. We’re all scared. The shutters are down. It’s creating massive damage to all the businesses here. I’ve never seen anything like this in my life. Our community is nice people, very cooperative, caring people.”

One shopkeeper echoed worries about safety. He said: “We saw the riots in Birmingham and Manchester and we’re worried. We’re not safe so we’re shutting down the shop just to protect ourselves. I’m feeling threatened right now. It’s a matter of life and property of people. I think police should take action and stop protesters attacking. There are going to be people gathered here to stop the protesters attacking us and our business. We’ll be at home because we’re thinking about our safety. We’ll see tomorrow morning what’s happened.”

Yumas takeaway said on Instagram: “After being advised by our emergency services, we have decided to close YUMAS Kettering Rd for today. This is a safety precaution due to the protests taking place on Kettering Rd today. For the safety of our staff and our customers we feel that it is safe to reopen for Thursday.”

Jonty from Barber Brothers expressed similar concerns, saying: “I’m nervous in a way. Obviously you worry about if anything’s going to happen to your shop. Everyone down here is just trying to make money and live their day to day lives. No one wants any problems. Why they’re vandalising businesses, it’s not good. Day to day everyone just gets on. It’s awful. It’s not a good representation for Northampton.”

Three people were arrested early on in the evening and taken into custody. Thereafter the protest remained peaceful.

Police, after launching its biggest public order operation in more than two decades, reopened the road just before 10pm, thanking the community for its cooperation.

Chanting, singing and flag waving started to fill the area with the words ‘the people united will never be defeated’ ringing through the night sky