Merseyside Police thanks racegoers for their patience during today's Grand National Festival

We would like to thank members of the public for their patience while we dealt with protestors during today’s Grand National Festival event.

Just after 5pm a large number of protesters attempted to gain entry onto Aintree racecourse. The majority were prevented from breaching the boundary fencing thanks to the extensive planning operation we had in place and the quick-thinking actions of our officers on the ground and members of security staff and the public.

Working in partnership with the Jockey Club the start of the Grand National was delayed for 14 minutes so officers could ensure that the event could go ahead safety.

A total of 118 people (including three arrested this morning) have now been arrested on suspicion of a number of offences including causing public nuisance and criminal damages.

Assistant Chief Constable Paul White said: “The safety and wellbeing of everyone is of paramount concern when dealing with a large-scale public events such as the Grand National.

“The perimeter of Aintree racecourse covers an extensive area of between 4-5km and obviously poses challenges for policing. However we have been planning the policing of this event for a number of months and we had a robust plan in place to ensure that we had adequate staff to deal with it.

“Just after 5pm a large number of protesters attempted to gain entry onto Aintree racecourse. The majority were prevented from breaching the boundary fencing thanks to our planning and the work of my officers.

“I can confirm a total of 118 people have been arrested today.

“I would like to thank everyone for their patience whilst this matter was dealt with in a safe and appropriate manner.

"I would also like to take the opportunity to thank mutual aid officers from Greater Manchester Police, North Wales Police, Cheshire Police and Durham Police and our partners at Aintree racecourse, security providers and the Jockey Club for their assistance in dealing with this matter.”