A NEONAZI gathering in Kent was shut down by anti-fascists from across the country on Saturday.

Patriotic Alternative, a new far-right party led by former members of the British National Party (BNP), had been seeking to gather prospective members in Sevenoaks for a hike.

The party’s south-east England branch claimed that the hike had gone ahead. But an image it posted to its Twitter feed showed only five people in the woods, covering their faces with a party banner.

Anti-fascists claimed to have taken a different banner, reading “White Lives Matter” alongside the party name, before the hike took place.

Football Lads and Lasses Against Fascism (FLAF), one of the groups which mobilised to stop the recruitment drive, told the Star: “[The Patriotic Alternative] ideology includes the repatriation of non-whites as well as heavy doses of anti-semitic conspiracy. 

“A key part of their strategy for growth is hosting hikes and outings with a view to radicalising and organising fascists and bringing people from online into real-life activism.”

They said the FLAF was formed to “counteract attempts by the far-right to hijack our sport for their own ideology and football will always remain our primary focus.

“However we remember the BNP and many of us remember the National Front and we will not stand by and watch another fascist party be rebuilt.

“Organised working-class anti-fascists will never be found wanting in this regard.”