Far right leaflets distributed in Peak District village - as residents say they are 'not welcome'

This month members of Patriotic Alternative did a leaflet drop around Castleton, pushing their propaganda through doors and fixing it to community noticeboards.

Kenny Mckee, a Buxton resident, who visited his parents at the weekend, said: “On visiting my elderly parents in Castleton today I was horrified to find out they had received far right leaflets from a group called 'Patriotic Alternative' through their postbox on Peveril Close on Sunday March, 3.

“Speaking to neighbours they also received these leaflets. I also saw them attached to the parish notice board.”

The far right group shared a post talking about their trip to Castleton with a member, whose face they blurred out, holding a sign showing allegiance to the regional organiser who was jailed this month.

The regional leader from Yorkshire was found guilty and imprisoned for intentionally stirring up racial hatred.

He was arrested in 2021 and following a subsequent search of Melia’s home, police discovered a book by Oswald Moseley, who founded the British Union of Fascists, a poster of Adolf Hitler and a Nazi emblem.

A spokesperson for the Crown Prosecution Service, who brought the case to trial earlier this year, said: “These were key signs of Melia’s ideology and underpinned his desire to spread his racist views in a deliberate manner.”

“He was also found guilty of encouraging or assisting the commission of the offence of racially aggravated criminal damage.”

Kenny said: “My parents, myself and the Castleton community would like to make clear that far right fascists are not welcome in Castleton and the Peak District.”

High Peak MP Robert Largan added: “I’m deeply troubled by reports of Neo-Nazi leaflets being distributed in Castleton. As I wrote in this paper last week, I am concerned about the rising tide of extremism both from Islamism and the Far Right.

“Sadly, we’ve seen a significant increase in hate in High Peak, as witnessed by the surge in anti semitism locally particularly between 2017 and 2019. We must stand together to combat the forces of division and face down the extremists who seek to tear us apart. British democracy and values must be defended.”