Sometimes in life, you end up in situations you never imagined you ever would. They can be difficult; tricky to negotiate. Or maybe even a little bit scary. On Friday night last week, I found myself in one of those situations.
Unlike most days I spend reporting out in the field, we didn’t start until five o’clock in the evening. My team and I met at a car park in the centre of Altrincham and then made our way to the Cresta Court Hotel.
Last year, this hotel was closed as part of the Home Office’s plans to house migrants - around 300 at this particular facility.
As a result, friction has recently been building in the local area, with several protests having already taken place.
That night, we knew in advance that there were two separate gatherings expected - one an ‘anti-migrant’ protest, and the other an ‘anti-racism’ counter-protest.
As we approached the hotel, it was immediately obvious that Greater Manchester Police would be taking no risks. There was a heavy presence of uniformed officers, and several police vehicles were stationed in the car park of the hotel itself.
It wouldn’t be a stretch to imagine that they also had backup ready and waiting not too far away.
The police were also somewhat serendipitously assisted by the road layout around the hotel, with the A56 providing an easy way to keep both groups separate (although they did ensure there were temporary barriers and a line of officers in between the two, just in case).
As we walked over to the area in front of the hotel, only a couple of people had arrived on the far side of the road. As they were draped in Union Jacks, it was fairly obvious which of the two protests they had come to support.
However, within around half an hour, people had started arriving on both sides, and once a further 30 minutes had passed, I would estimate a crowd of around 500 were standing on either side of the road; chanting, waving flags and placards, and making their voices heard.
On the ‘anti-migrant’ side of the road, it was a sea of Union Jacks and St George’s Crosses. Meanwhile, on the ‘anti-racism’ side, there were placards and banners reading things like ‘Refugees Welcome Here’ and ‘Smash the Far Right’.
The two groups spent the evening shouting and chanting at each other about their views on migration, asylum seeker hotels and the government.
My job that night was simple. Do a few live reports from outside the hotel, with the aim of hearing voices from both sides.
It’s my responsibility as a reporter to be balanced, and that means giving equal weight to every side of an argument.
And thus, we began.
My first interview took place during Michelle Dewberry’s show, ‘Dewbs and Co’, and it was with two people on the far side of the road - Liza and Michael.
The first thing that Liza said to me was that she was “just a concerned mum, not a racist”. They put it to me during our interview that they feel the government isn’t doing enough and that they genuinely had fear for the future of their children and this country. It was a moving interview, and they certainly put forward the views of that group particularly well.
Once we had done that interview, we knew it was time to cross the road and try for an interview with the ‘anti-racism’ side.
If I’m honest, I was slightly apprehensive about this for several reasons - I had first-hand experience with this group, and had also seen colleagues around the country attempt interviews in the past, who, as a rule, had not received the warmest of welcomes.
Moreover, that night we had already seen other journalists and members of the media try and fail to speak to them. But we knew we had to at least give it a go.
As we approached, the tension was already high, but as we crossed the road, there was a definite shift. My security liaised with GMP officers to let them know what we were planning, and then we waited for the green light from our gallery team to let us know they were ready for us to go live on air.
Now, logistically speaking, although the layout of the road had proved helpful to the police, it made things much harder for us.
The counter-protest group stood on the pavement next to the road, and, as a result, was hemmed in by the passing traffic. This meant that, to try and speak to people, we needed to make our way directly through the crowd.
As we went on air, we approached some of the counter-protestors, and I began to ask if any of them would give us their point of view or tell us why they had chosen to be there that night.
You could immediately sense the hostility. The first few people either ignored us or demanded to see my press credentials.
Sophie Reaper took to social media | INSTAGRAMNow, as you might expect, during those situations, we need to travel light - just in case. I’ve also never been asked by a member of the public to see my press ID before; one would imagine that the huge camera and microphone would have been enough proof of our legitimacy, but clearly not.
Either way, I was unable to provide those who had asked with my press card, so we moved on.
Then, things suddenly took a turn. There was pushing and shoving, and the police became involved, holding people away from my team and I.
We were surrounded, and I felt the hands of my security on my shoulder as he tried to guide me away from the situation as it unfolded. This, of course, was also all taking place whilst we were live on air.
So, the adrenaline was already very high, and I was trying to navigate the crowd whilst also trying to describe what was happening for our audience.
Flags were being waved in our faces and in front of the camera lens, music from a speaker was being played at a deafening level to drown out my voice, and people were shouting at us from left and right. I remember one man repeatedly shouting at me to “get back on our side”, to which I asked what he meant by that. He didn’t have an answer.
And then, I got hit.
Almost simultaneously, a placard came down from in front of me, and the pole of a flag came from behind. I don’t believe there was a huge amount of force behind either (although I did wake up on Saturday morning with a lump on my head), but it wasn’t that which bothered me. It was the intent.
In the moment, perhaps because of the adrenaline, I was able to keep going and finish my report. But as soon as we came off air, I stepped away and was immediately overwhelmed by what had just happened. Even now, I cannot even comprehend how or why someone would feel the need to do that.
I was simply giving the counter-protest the chance to have their say. Some have said I was “deliberately agitating” the crowd, but I struggle to understand how the question “why have you come this evening?” would cause anyone to feel agitation.
Moreover, if I hadn’t gone and offered that chance, I’m fairly confident I would have been accused of bias. There really is no way to please people sometimes.
At the end of the day, no matter your politics, no matter who you are or what you believe in, I am just a human being who was trying to do her job. And violence towards me, or anyone else, solves nothing.