Hundreds of anti-migrant protesters blocked roads in Portsmouth on Sunday night in an attempt to prevent asylum seekers from leaving the southern English city after arriving by small boat.

The demonstration was the second major anti-migrant protest in Britain over the weekend, following a separate protest in which masked men blocked access to the Port of Dover on Saturday.

The UK Home Office condemned the Portsmouth demonstration, describing the protesters’ behaviour as “intimidating and thuggish”.

It said the right to peaceful protest was fundamental to democracy but warned that demonstrations must not cross into disorder.

Footage shared on social media showed protesters, many dressed in black with their faces covered, confronting police officers carrying riot shields.

Police formed a security cordon around buses waiting to transport the asylum seekers to a processing centre.

Officials said the migrants were eventually taken away safely.

French authorities had earlier reported that a vessel carrying about 140 people departed Baie de Seine in Normandy, heading towards England’s southern coast.

Small-boat arrivals in Hampshire, where Portsmouth is located, are considered rare, with most such crossings arriving further east in Kent, where the English Channel crossing from France is shorter.