The owner of a music venue has spoken of his shock after being duped into accepting a booking for a Nazi-sympathising band.

Ibrahim Nurhakli, who runs The Rafters in Maidstone's High Street, says he was unaware of the true nature of the booking until a band started performing Nazi salutes on stage and singing songs with racist words.

Furore erupted this evening after word of Saturday night's gig leaked out on social media, with a campaign calling on people to tell Rafters' management 'what they think about hosting a Nazi event.'

But Mr Nurhakli, who is Turkish, said he had no idea what the real intention of the night was, after being contacted by someone who wanted to hire the room for a 50th birthday party.

Mr Nurhakli said: "I had phone calls and Facebook dealings with this man and when he paid the deposit he looked normal.

"You have to remember The Rafters hosts punk and rock bands, so you cannot always tell by appearances and I took the booking in good faith.

"I was told the party would be for 150 people."

But he found himself fearing for his safety when around 30 'partygoers' began turning up and loud rock music started.

He added: "They were all skinheads. Again, you can't always make assumptions based on just appearances, but then a few songs later they began doing the Nazi salute.

"It was just me running the bar and my sound engineer."

During the evening, the police paid the bar a visit and Mr Nurhakli claims he told officers of his concerns, but police weren't able to help him halt the gig there and then, fearing the situation would become inflamed.

Instead, he reluctantly waited for a break and then cut the evening short as the bar had been booked until 4am.

He says suggestions being made on social media that he knowingly allowed a Nazi event to go ahead is hurtful.

He added: "I, myself, am a Turkish immigrant, so I'd hardly be likely to willingly accept such a booking. I was lied to.

"The live music scene is dwindling in Maidstone, so I have been working flat-out to promote the venue for private hire and I feel this is a step backwards.

"Bookings such as this rely on good faith on both sides and it may make me do things differently in the future. I may have to start looking at people's appearances when they come to pay their deposits. If you're a skinhead, I may have to say 'no.'"

He added: "I didn't even know these sort of groups existed."

Mr Nurhakli, who used to run award-winning Flaming Henry's restaurant in Maidstone, has pledged to donate the money from the booking to a charity that works to eradicate racism and discrimination. He hopes readers might have some suggestions.

"I don't want to make a single penny from it," he added.