German police arrested more than 40 demonstrators who were trying to block a march organised by far-right activists in eastern Berlin on Saturday, a police spokesman said.

Several hundred mainly left-wing sympathisers, some chanting "Nazis out" and "Get Lost", tried to confront some 700 neo-Nazis. The neo-Nazis were clad in black and carried black and red banners with the slogans "Young people need a future".

The far-right National Democratic Party (NPD), described by the Office for the Protection of the Constitution as racist, anti-Semitic and revisionist, organised the march to demand the establishment of a "national youth centre".

A police spokesman said between 40 and 70 arrests had been made and television pictures showed the police using water cannon to disperse the left-wingers who held banners saying "Berlin against Nazis".

Bottles were thrown, some apparently aimed at police, TV pictures showed. Wrecked cars and overturned bottlebanks could be seen in the streets of the Lichtenberg suburb of Berlin.

About 1,600 police officers, many in riot gear and helmets, had been deployed in the suburb. There were no reports of any injuries.

Clashes between left and right wingers are frequent in Germany, even though neo-Nazi demonstrations are often banned to avoid the eruption of violence. Usually, however, police arrest a smaller number of people.