'It evolved very quickly': Eastney Point locals stranded overnight as anti-migrant protest blocks road
The road was not clear until 5am
Residents were left stranded on Eastney Point overnight due to the protests that took place on Sunday night after an RNLI boat that had picked up 140 migrants docked at Eastney Ferry Landing.
A dinghy that carried the migrants from France sparked a major emergency response as it headed towards the English coast, with a helicopter, aeroplane and lifeboats sent to the scene.
As reports about the boat landing in Eastney spread, protestors flocked to the area to block the only road out of the peninsula.
Adam, 54, had been in the area after attending a party the night before. He began filming the boats after seeing the number of people on board, and posted it to his YouTube channel.
“RNLI boats were coming, they were on the horizon. You could see there were people on the back of the boats, so we all went to the pontoon to look,” he said.
“The Harbourmaster told us to come off the pontoon and it evolved very quickly.”
“Tents sprung up, all the emergency services and immigration were there,” he said. “The roads were blocked, you couldn't get out of there until half past five.”
Adam was forced to stay the night on the peninsula and he saw the protests progress. Most protestors were blocked by police on Ferry Road from getting close to the ferry landing using riot shields.
“Some protesters managed to get through and were by the RNLI station,” said Adam.
“We saw it could be a scary situation and I said ‘let's get in the cars to be safe’. It was definitely tense.”
Derek, the owner of a houseboat moored on Eastney Point, was also stranded overnight.
“There was a big stand off by the RNLI station, the police were all stood there. Protestors were swimming around the building to get pictures of the coaches and the police chased them into the water,” he said.
“The police were really good, they offered us water and made sure we were okay,” he said.
“The people were put into tents, they were given food and probably searched. They were issued with clean clothing then put on the coaches.
“The protestors had put nails and glass in the road, we couldn’t get out.”
Derek also said he didn’t feel threatened by the protestors or the police, and that he saw no violence while on the peninsula, but did hear the protestors shouting.
“They were shouting at the police, ‘when that kid got raped you were nowhere to be seen, now for this you’re all here.’”
Resident Sue Dewey claimed protesters “broke into the marina” in Southsea.
She told reporters: “They didn’t actually take fencing out but they broke through a gate and then all powered in.
“The police cordon was in the road, Fort Cumberland Road… they were trying to get in through the marina and bypass the cordon.”
“We are worried it’s going to happen again… the ferry had to be stopped, lots of things had to be stopped because of it yesterday,” she said.
“Obviously the emergency response was very well organised, it was pretty slick, there were about 60 vehicles here at one point.
“It didn’t get too rough last night, I don’t think, because you could hear people in the crowd going ‘It’s a peaceful protest,’… there were people shouting… but they weren’t overturning vehicles. We were worried they were going to start wrecking the joint.”
Peter Ford was also on Eastney Point last night, and watched the events unfold.
“It was better than the cinema, it was exciting,” he said.
“We tried to get out, we drove down but we couldn’t get through. We managed to get an old lady out, she was about 80, but we couldn’t get through. My partner got a bit nervous so we decided to turn back.”
“I sat up on the roof of our van watching the whole thing happen, it was mental. I filmed it and posted it on Facebook, and my video has over a million views. It’s crazy.”