Former English Defence League leader Tommy Robinson has been released by police on bail after being arrested on suspicion of assault.

Robinson, 37, was detained after police received a report of an assault on a man at Hollywood Retail Park in Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, shortly after 8.30pm on Thursday.

He was also questioned in custody on suspicion of a public order offence, along with a 43-year-old man from the West Midlands area, a 47-year-old man from the North Wales area and a 28-year-old man from the Bedfordshire area.

Footage shared on social media shows Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, filming himself and then police officers who arrive at an address in the town.

Robinson explains to an officer that he “acted in self-defence” after he says that someone spat in his face.

On Saturday morning, Cumbria Police said the four arrested had been released on bail and appealed for witnesses to come forward.

Robinson, from Luton, has made two trips to Barrow within the last fortnight and says he is working as a journalist to investigate claims of what he terms may be “a Muslim grooming gang” operating in the town.

Last month, Detective Chief Superintendent Dean Holden, of Cumbria Police, said a year-long investigation into “specific allegations of abuse” did not corroborate claims a group of Asian men in Barrow were conducting abuse and exploitation against individuals.

He added that police had not “ignored or dismissed” such claims, had taken them seriously and investigated thoroughly.

The statement was issued after allegations of serious sexual abuse and physical violence against a teenage girl, including graphic images of injuries, were shared widely on social media.

Following the 12-month investigation, a 19-year-old woman was charged with several counts of perverting the course of justice.

Tensions have risen in the town in recent weeks, including threats made on social media to a number of Asian takeaways and to a local newspaper reporter.