Leamington Spa Sikh temple: 55 people arrested after Gurdwara occupied by armed men

A 'significant number' of bladed weapons have been confiscated from the scene

Police outside the Gurdwara Temple in Leamington Spa after it was stormed by a group of men armed with knives (PA)

Some 55 people have been arrested after dozens of masked men occupied the entrance to a Sikh temple in Leamington Spa in what appeared to be a protest against an interfaith marriage between a Sikh and a Muslim.

Warwickshire Police said the people had been arrested on suspicion of aggravated trespass after men, described as carrying “bladed items" entered the the gurdwara on Tachbrook Drive.

Police were called to the Temple at 6:47am on Sunday morning and set up a cordon of armed police around the entrance.

The force said a "significant number" of bladed weapons had been confiscated from the scene.

The men were believed to be carrying the items in reference to the ceremonial daggers carried by Sikh men.

A group identifying itself as Sikh Youth Birmingham posted a video on Facebook apparently from inside the temple, showing men sat on the floor, many with hoods up, chanting and raising placards.

Another video showed wedding guests waiting outside the temple, where more protesters had also assembled.

Jatinder Singh Birdi, a former treasurer at the temple, confirmed a marriage had been due to take place in the temple on Sunday morning between a Sikh and non-Sikh.

He told the BBC: "There have been tensions that have been going on for a couple of years with some people objecting to mixed marriages taking place in the gurdwara."

The incident is understood to be isolated with police describing the situation as "an escalation of a local dispute".

Sikh Youth Birmingham claimed to have up to 100 people involved in the protest, both inside and outside the gurdwara.

One protester broadcast a Facebook Live video from among the wedding guests at the gate, where tensions were clearly high.

Religious leaders were reportedly involved in negotiations to end the standoff.

Some on social media questioned the use of armed officers in response to a peaceful protest.

Superintendent David Gardner said: "We would like to reassure people that this was a contained incident that we believe was an escalation of a local dispute.

"A significant number of bladed weapons were seized from the scene. As a result of reports that the men were in possession of these weapons we deployed armed officers as a precaution. Nobody was injured in the incident.

"Over the coming days we will be working with local the Sikh community to address some of the ongoing issues that have culminated in today's events.

"We would like to thank local people for their patience while we dealt with this incident."