Officers hunting those behind the Dover riots have been given commendations.

They were praised at the Chief Constable’s Awards ceremony in their handling of one of the largest investigations carried out by Kent Police in recent years.

Their work led to the arrests of more than 80 people followed by the convictions of 51.

Chief Constable Alan Pughsley said: “This is one of the finest investigations Kent Police has seen, pulled together by a first class team of officers and staff from all walks of local policing - their passion and enthusiasm for the case has been simply inspirational.”

The ceremony took place at Kent Police Training School in Maidstone with Kathrin Smallwood, the High Sheriff of Kent, as guest of honour.

The violence had erupted in Dover on January 30, 2016 when far right marchers and anti-facist protesters clashed.

Missiles were thrown, weapons used and fights broke out in many locations.

Opposing sides had also clashed on the M20 services where makeshift weapons were used.

Seven arrests were made on the day in Dover as officers battled to keep the groups apart.

The rioting left the town shell-shocked and a team of detectives and uniformed officers was put together to go after the perpetrators.

The team trawled through hundreds of hours of video footage and gathered evidence, carrying out painstaking research to identify suspects.

Of the 80 arrested 16 are still at various stages of the criminal justice process.