Thousands of people have taken to the streets of towns and cities across England in counter demonstrations against a wave of riots by anti-immigration protesters. More than 6,000 police officers were mobilized on Wednesday evening from New Castle to Birmingham, Liverpool to Brighton, Sheffield to London. Apart from some isolated incidents in Aldershot and Chatham, the marches have been largely peaceful. The unrest The claim after misinformation was spread online that the suspect in a fatal stabbing of three girls in Southport just over a week ago was a Muslim asylum seeker. The first prison sentences for violent disorder have been handed down to rioters involved. The men, all from Liverpool, have been jailed for between 20 months and three years. Inquests into the deaths of the three girls have been formally opened and adhered until the end of criminal proceedings, the senior coroner giving condolences to the families and friends of the girls. With more on the counter protests, here's our correspondent, Joe Inwood, reporting from Bristol.

The city had been braced for trouble.

So this part of Bristol is where a couple of immigration lawyers are based, whose addresses have been leaked online. There was a real fear there could be a far-right process taking place here today. But we've been here the last couple of hours, and there's not a sign of that. Instead, something very different has happened.

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Thousands of anti-racism protestors, trade unionists, members of the local Black and Asian community, students, took over the streets in what was broadly a good-natured evening, but one that sent a message.

I feel ashamed for our country right now. It's just we're not representing ourselves in any sense of a manner that's admirable at all. You can see a lot of places are boarded up, so there's been a lot of fear about what could happen, and it just felt really important that we were here to protect our community.

It was a picture repeated across the country. Walthstow in London saw vast crowds gathered, as in Bristol, to oppose the far right, while there were colorful scenes in West London. Refugees are welcome here.

Refugees are well prepared.

In Shefield, police had prepared for but none came. In Croydon, although there were a few arrests, things were generally peaceful, while a march between two mosques in Accrington was greeted by people drinking at the pub. And this was the scene in New Castle.

Of course, protect our mosques because we believe this is our house and this is house of God. And I think for them to stand up and really want to go around and try to destroy our mosques Something really heinous.

There were some isolated incidents. Aldershot was seemingly one of the few places the right-wing protests materialized. In Brighton, they were so outnumbered, they needed police protection. According to the man who used to oversee the police, it's not only the counter protests that kept the far right off the streets, but also swift prosecutions.

The techniques and the The instruments that the police have now for identifying people, even with face coverings, I won't go into detail, are very, very advanced. And also it is an offense to have a face covering, to maintain a face covering in order to take it off by a police officer. I think that the community has come together, and I think it's an extremely positive step.

Back in Bristol, and while there was a heavy police presence all evening, by 10:00 PM, there had only been one arrest.

This is Castle Park in Bristol, and it's here on Saturday that there were running battles between the far-right and anti-fascist protestors, and there had been real fears that those scenes could be replicated tonight. But as you can see, nothing has materialized, and it seems across the country, that picture has been repeated. Both government and the protestors on the street tonight will be hoping that this could be a turning point turning point in this disorder. Joe Inwood, BBC News in Bristol.