Italian riot police break out the Water cannons at the Austrian border on anarchist protesters

Police water cannon protesters at Austria Italy border demo. Italian riot police injured in violent clashes with no-border protesters as EU boss Juncker warns closing Austrian-Italy controls would be a 'political catastrophe' More than 600 protesters gathered at the Brenner pass on Saturday to demonstrate Austria's border control plan Demonstrators hurled firecrackers and bricks at the Italian police and spilled onto the train tracks at the busy route Austria said it wanted to erect a fence at the currently Schengen Italian border and introduce ID checks The Brenner Pass is one of the routes that migrants use as they head towards wealthy northern Europe. Hundreds of left-wing protesters clashed with Italian police at the country's Austrian border on Saturday, leaving four officers injured as they fought against the proposed closure of the border between the two countries. Italian riot police standing just 100 to 200 metres from the border responded with tear gas after a group of 50 to 80 anarchists, all covering their faces with motorcycle helmets and gas masks, threw bricks, firecrackers and other objects at a police blockade at the Brenner Pass. On the other side of the border, hundreds of Austrian police were waiting to act, but were never deployed, as their Italian colleagues tried to contain the protest, which first spilled over on to the railway and then onto the busy Brenner highway.

As police pushed the protesters deeper back into Italian territory, many shed their helmets and gas masks, scampering up onto a steep hillside overlooking the highway and shouting at police to free their detained comrades.

The violent clashes came on the same day that European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker called Vienna's plan to shut the Brenner pass 'a political catastrophe.'

According to La Republicca, eight Italians, two Austrians and a German were arrested during the demonstration, which saw more than 600 people gathered to protest against Austria's plans to erect a fence at the Brenner crossing it shares with Italy to 'channel' people.

Part of Europe's borderless Schengen zone, Brenner is one of the routes that migrants use as they head towards wealthy northern Europe.

Italian newspaper Corriera della Sera reported earlier this week that the protest had been organised by an anarchist group from Trentino, northern Italy, and was expected to attract demonstrators from abroad.