Far-right marchers on the warpath in Dudley

Members of the All Football Fans/Firms March Against Islamisation (AFFFMAI) group are planning to descend on the town on June 13.

Posters showing members of the group with their faces covered up and others punching their fists in the air, with the Union Flag in the background, are plastered all over the group's official Facebook page.

Dozens of supporters of the All Football Fans/Firms March Against Islamisation (AFFFMAI) group have been posting messages of support for the demonstration on June 13.

Others have questioned whether the 2,700 people who have said they are going to descend on the town, will in fact turn up on the day.

The group has its own website and Facebook page and puts out links, messages and pictures through its own Twitter account to its supporters. One backer, known only as Rob, gave £20 to the cause, saying his donation was 'a small price to pay for freedom lads'.

Another supporter, Colin Wright, gave £50, telling event organisers: "No surrender. Its time to take back our country." Fellow event supporter, William Red, donated £10 towards the cause, adding: "Come on people let's see a sea of these tee-shirts."

Meanwhile, event organiser Kevin Smith wrote on Facebook: "Huge thanks to all the contributors. We're getting there. Please keep donations coming in. Every penny will be used and accounted for."

Another poster on the group's Facebook site said: "It's time to union. All football fans marching together against barbarism and intolerance of Islam."

The AFFFMAI said through its main Twitter account: "We are the reason of a nervous atmosphere in Dudley I've been told."

On the Facebook page, Dave Williams, said: "2,700 say they are going but will they on the day. Britain First done one today where 2,200 said they were going but only about a couple of hundred turned up."

And anger-filled rallying cries such as 'together we stand, divided we fall', and 'no surrender, it's time to take back our country' have been posted on the site.

The group also say they are opposed to 'Islamisation'.

Organisers have taken to social media to drum up support for the march.

It is the third time this year the town will have played host to such a march in a move that is likely to spark fear in people who live and work in the town.

West Midlands Police today warned that the protest is likely to be bigger than the English Defence League (EDL) demonstration in Dudley that occurred back in February.

On that day, officers from across the Midlands and neighbouring forces were deployed in the town.

West Midlands Police was forced to spend £321,000 on its operation for the EDL rally with hundreds of officers drafted in.

For the latest demonstration, police chiefs have already been in contact with football clubs and forces up and down the country to gather intelligence about any likely troublemakers to be joining up with the protest.

And it appears members of AFFFMAI have been on fact-finding missions to Dudley ahead of next month's march.

On Facebook, one post states: "My impression of Dudley. A small town with obvious history and some impressive views.

"But, and a big but, it is clear to me that there is absolutely no integration there whatsoever.

"It seems that Islam is trying to impose itself in a big way. No more.

"Dudley, don't worry, the British are coming."

Photographs of certain locations in the town such as Dudley Police Station have also been posted on Facebook, taken during the trip to the town.

Some football fans, who claim to support Port Talbot Town FC and West Ham United, have said on Facebook that they are going to the event.

But members of AFFFMAI have denied that they are out to cause violence and trouble and say they want to exercise their right to protest over their concerns over the Islamic faith.

The group first created posts on its own website in November last year and has quickly gathered support over recent months.

In a statement on the group's website referring to the march, entitled 'Hello Infidels!', it states: "Now, people ask what is the point of this march, well I don't think I have to explain what Islamisation is, but to all those new to it – we want to show the government and the world that British men can stand up for their rights and their country, enough is enough.

"This is our Britain and we are about to take it back. Nothing else. Full stop. Talking time is over, I think that's clear enough."

Graham Clark, who says he will be travelling to Dudley from Scotland, wrote: "This should not be just for England, this should be for all British patriots, together we stand divided we fall."

Group members, including one of the event's main organisers Kevin Smith, have started fundraising towards the costs of travelling to Dudley and staging the protest.

Black T-shirts showing images of clenched fists against the background of the Union Flag are been sold to drum up cash.

The shirts, costing £25, have All Football Fans/Firms March Against Islamisation emblazoned on them alongside 'Dudley 13/6/15', which is the protest date.

Organisers say the sale of the T-shirts will 'cover expenses that comes with organising such a massive event' as 100 per cent of the profit will go to the cause.

Leaders have also set up a fundraising web page which has so far gathered £234 in donations towards the costs of staging the mass protest. One supporter, Colin Wright, donated £50 to the event, writing: 'No surrender. Its time to take back our country'.

Group leaders have told members travelling in by train to arrive at Dudley Port Railway Station for the protest.

Protesters have been told that free transport will be provided to ferry them into the town centre.

People will also be arriving by coaches, minivans, cars and bikes and told to rendezvous at Flood Street car park, off Duncan Edwards Way, from 11.30am.

People in Dudley say they are concerned about the protest and say Dudley is getting a reputation for far-right demonstrations.

Jed Hawkins, of the town centre chaplaincy, said today: "The level of uncertainty is one of the biggest tragedies for the town. Dudley is getting a reputation for these protests.

"It is the cumulative effect month after month and the town is losing heart."

Trader David Dils, aged 34, who runs David's Cave in Wolverhampton Street, said his takings had halved in the past four weeks.

He said: "People are telling me 'We don't come to Dudley anymore – that's where the protests are'."

Chairman of Dudley Private Hire and Taxi Association, Shaz Saleem, has been involved with a working group set up by police to give updates on the policing operation. He said that the lack of information about the leadership of the group is creating tension, with people unaware of the scale of the protests.

The All Football Firms/Fans March Against Islamisation group claim to be attracting supporters of clubs from across the country to take part.

But long-standing Wolves supporter, Charles Ross, said: "I am heartily sick of people who try to hijack the game of football and, especially, the name of its fans for their own often warped purposes.

"I hesitate to give this unholy rabble the oxygen of publicity, but the voice of the decent majority must be heard. And heard loud.

"I am all for the right to peacefully assemble and protest.

"But I am also wholly against incitement of any kind. I like living in a Britain which is liberal, diverse, and tolerant. The clue, as if one was needed, about this group lies in their name.

"In particular, the use of the word 'firms', which implies that violent elements are part of their association.

"Sorry, but a reality check is needed for these people, whose grasp on even the basic facts appears a touch tenuous.

"Football, and its fans, has its problems. Exactly as the society it reflects does. No more, no less."

He added: "I am proud to be a Wolves fan. Proud to be a football fan.

"The overwhelming majority of us are ordinary, decent folk who come together with one common bond. Our love for our club, and for our game.

"Nothing else matters. So do not go tarring us with your spiteful brushes." Steve Davies, secretary of the Walsall FC Supporters Trust, said: "There is no place in football for racism or politics.

"It is a global game, played by everyone," added Mr Davies.

John Homer, chairman of West Bromwich Albion Supporters' Club, added: "This has nothing whatsoever to do with football and it's sullying the name of football fans.

"In fact it is bringing the name of football fans into disrepute.

"I have no objection to people protesting against anything, as long as it is done in the right way and is within the law.

Jerry Langford, who has helped organise a counter demonstration called the UNITY rally, said: "We are against this new protest. The difficult thing is these groups just keep coming.

"We are exasperated about this as we know the vast majority of people in Dudley have no truck with the mosque.

"There is always a minority who do not agree, but I know a majority do no have a problem.

"We do not want to bring the town to a standstill either but we feel we need to have a presence on the day, although we are still looking at what that will be. The problem is these protests are allowed to be marches through the town rather than static, so these groups think Dudley is a soft touch," he added.

For the EDL protest in February, roads were cordoned off and Dudley became a virtual ghost town as the majority of stores, apart from some chain stores, shut down completely.

Huge steel barricades were erected in the town on the day, effectively shutting off the historic market place to keep the EDL protest from a counter anti-fascism rally in Castle Street.

Dudley Council had to spend £25,000 on security measures and clean up costs for the EDL protest. Traders, community leaders and people living in Dudley say they have been besieged by protesters as part of a publicity stunt to further their own causes.

But they say the town is suffering after fears over violence force the majority of shops to close as protests damage the reputation of the medieval market town.

The far-right protests have been in response to plans to build a new mosque in Dudley.

Chief Inspector Phil Dolby, of Dudley Police, said the latest protest was likely to be of a 'similar size to the EDL protest, if not slightly bigger'.

He said police were 'planning for the worst and hoping for the best'.