Police have been pelted with stones and bottles at a demonstration against a planned asylum seekers’ centre in a village outside Dordrecht.

Some protesters tried to break into De Spil conference centre in Bleskensgraaf where councillors were holding a meeting to discuss plans to house up to 125 refugees.

The demonstration began peacefully, with a convoy of around 150 vehicles arriving at the venue and several hundred protesters waving banners and Dutch flags.

Police said the atmosphere turned sour as the meeting began at 7.30pm. Nobody was arrested and no injuries were reported, but riot police had to drive back the crowd as they were attacked with missiles.

Two weeks ago a similar demonstration was held in the neighbouring village of Nieuw-Lekkerland, which falls under the same municipality of Molenland, against a similar sized facility.

Mayor Theo Segers was jeered by protesters waving flags and torches as he received a petition of 10,000 signatures against the plan.

The council is required to accommodate 250 asylum seekers as part of the government’s plan to share the burden of housing refugees evenly, but opponents say the chosen locations are unsuitable.