- guardian.co.uk, Saturday June 30 2001 17.02 BST
A ban on marches was imposed in Oldham in the run-up to the election in an attempt to stop agitation by far right groups.
Yesterday's move came as police investigated four petrol bomb attacks in Accrington, Lancashire, one of which was being treated as racially motivated.
Cars, a shop and a primary school were firebombed, prompting fears that racial violence had spread from Burnley, five miles away. No one was injured and the damage was minor. Two Asian youths were seen running from the scene of the first attack on a car at 6pm on Thursday night, police said.
Two hours later there was a petrol bomb attack at a car supermarket, Central Cars, in which one vehicle was destroyed and two others were damaged. The Sacred Heart Roman Catholic primary school and the Glyn Webb DIY store were also petrol bombed.
