A protest group has said it will picket outside Worthing Police Station in anger at “an outrageous attack on freedom”.

Members of the Worthing Freedom Campaign have announced that they plan to picket outside Worthing Police Station in Chatsworth Road, Worthing, at noon on Saturday, June 9.

They made the claim after Sussex Police and Worthing Borough Council announced that a dispersal order was being introduced in Worthing.

This came into power on Friday, June 1 and will last the whole summer.

It means police will have the power to move groups of two or more people on if they feel they are causing trouble.

But the Worthing Freedom Campaign – whose symbol incorporates the Sussex Police emblem and a Swastika – said they were not happy about this.

They said in a statement: “An outrageous attack on our freedom has been launched by Sussex Police in collaboration with Worthing Borough Council.

"They have imposed on us the type of draconian legislation that would normally be deployed by a dictatorship trying to put down a revolution.

“The police have said it is about protecting businesses and the council say it is about the Jubilee and Olympic festivities.

"This is not good enough. We don’t need this fascist law in Worthing. This is a town not a prison camp.”

Acting Superintendent Ian Pollard, Sussex Police’s district commander for Adur and Worthing, said: “We are aware of some people’s concerns about how the Section 30 order was introduced and how it will be used.

“Unfortunately, there has been quite a lot of misinterpretation about the order online, which has heightened this concern.

"I can reassure that it was introduced specifically to help tackle antisocial behaviour by some street drinkers in the area, which was reported as a problem by the community.

"It is not a blanket ban on groups or a curfew on young people – powers to disperse people are only used if they are acting antisocially.

“I’ve already spoken to a number of people who raised the concerns to explain when and why the powers are used and would ask any other people who would like more information to contact me or their neighbourhood policing team.”