A DORSET MP is appealing for calm after police were called in to separate rival groups protesting the migrant barge.

The ugly scenes were witnessed yesterday as the controversial barge made its much-anticipated arrival at Portland Port.

Richard Drax, South Dorset MP, said he was concerned to see angry clashes between groups of people as the Bibby Stockholm barge docked.

Police were called in to separate rival groups as tensions ran high.

The barge will soon become a temporary home for 500 single men who are seeking asylum.

Mr Drax said: "I heard the kerfuffle between the two sides. I appeal for calm.

"This is not the time for protesters for whatever reason to start pushing each other around and abusing each other. 

"It's not going to remove the barge, which is now here."

Two groups, Stand Up to Racism Dorset and the NO TO THE BARGE group oppose the barge, however, they differ on messages about asylum seekers coming to the port.

Stand Up to Racism Dorset says refugees are welcome but that they shouldn't be housed on the Bibby Stockholm, which they describe as a 'prison barge'.

Meanwhile, members of the NO TO THE BARGE Group say they are concerned about the number of asylum seekers being housed on the vessel and the impact it will have on local infrastructure. 

Mr Drax said: "I would urge people to think very carefully before they do anything else," he said.

The MP has opposed the barge since plans to house it on Portland Port were revealed.

He said: "It's a worrying sense of the inevitable, which is it's arrived. 

"I have done, along with others, all I can to oppose it.

"However, now that it's here, and having met with all the statutory authorities on Monday virually, they have all agreed that we have to do the very best we can to accommodate the barge and the migrants to follow."