Beacons mark start of countryside protest

More than 3,000 beacons blazed across Britain to signal the start of a week of protest that will culminate with tens of thousands of countrysiders taking to the streets of London this weekend.

The beacons, including one in Parliament Square, were lit by the Countryside Alliance to publicise the weekend march - its so-called Liberty and Livelihood campaign.

As many as 250,000 marchers will be in London to persuade the Government to drop its intended ban on hunting with dogs and to protest at the way the Government has handled farming and countryside issues, including what many farmers see as gross mishandling of the foot and mouth crisis last year.

Among the thousands of supporters who will be marching alongside farmers and hunting groups are Conservative leader Iain Duncan Smith and Camilla Parker Bowles.

Charles Mann, national beacon coordinator, said: "We feel the Government is riding roughshod over the countryside and the beacons have provided rural people with an opportunity to speak with one voice, uniting behind a common cause."