SIX people have been arrested after allegedly burning copies of the Koran and posting a video of the incident on the internet.

Police say that the arrests were made after what appeared to be two copies of the Muslim holy book were burned in Gateshead on September 11, the anniversary of the terrorist attack on the Twin Towers in New York.

Two men were arrested four days after the incident and a further four were detained yesterday.

All six were questioned on suspicion of stirring up racial hatred and were released on police bail pending further enquiries.

Northumbria Police and Gateshead Council this morning released a joint statement on the incident which read: "The kind of behaviour displayed in this video is not at all representative of our community as a whole.

"Our community is one of mutual respect and we continue to work together with community leaders, residents and people of all faiths and beliefs to maintain good community relations."