At least five people have been arrested after a violent stand-off between Ku Klux Klan members and black rights' activists in South Carolina.

Lines of police were needed to separate the groups which had gathered on opposite sides of the street, following the removal of the Confederate flag from the grounds of the State House earlier this week.

The flag has become the subject of renewed controversy since its link to the gunman in the recent attack on a black church in Charleston, which left nine people dead.

The Loyal White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan - which claims to be "the largest Klan in America" - says around 200 of their members were involved in yesterday's rally.

Reuters reports that many of the people shouting 'white power' slogans were members of a Detroit-based group, the National Socialist Movement Party, said to be one of the 'most prominent neo-Nazi groups' in the US.

Members of a group called the Black Educators for Justice, based in Florida, are said to have been gathered at the opposite side of the Capitol building.

It is reported that there was a crowd of more than 2,000 people altogether.

Seven people were also taken to hospital following the rallies.