Hundreds of anti-immigration protesters took to the streets of Durban on Thursday, with vehicles set ablaze and foreign-owned businesses targeted as unrest swept through the city centre.

Crowds gathered around burning vehicles, with thick smoke rising above the streets as demonstrators march through the city.

The violence reportedly erupted after a South African demonstrator was assaulted during the march, with police saying the victim had suffered a broken leg and 14 vehicles were torched in the unrest.

Police deployed officers to contain further unrest and condemned those exploiting the demonstration to damage property.

The unrest came amid tensions over a Constitutional Court ruling concerning the rights of asylum seekers and the procedures governing their deportation.

Anti-immigration groups have argued that the ruling makes it harder to remove undocumented migrants, while the government maintains that it does not automatically grant legal status to people living in the country illegally.