The demo itself started peacefully enough, with good talks been given in the center of Derby to between 100-200 people. However, when the protestors tried to march through the town the police attempted to stop them leaving the square. They were immediately aggressive, pushing and shoving - their reason was that they didnt know about the demo. At one point they decided to arrest someone, who after a struggle was released, but not before they were randomly striking out with their batons and harrassing elderly passers by. One person received a very nasty blow to the skull, leaving him gushing blood.

Yes, it took them this short a time to blow it, and turn a peaceful march in to a body of very angry people. Denied the town, they simply turned around and took to the roads instead. For the next few hours, the Saturday traffic in Derby was completely snarlled up, often with a lot of help from the panic police riot vans. The police simply were unable to handle what was going on and for the most part were left standing behind. This allowed ample opportunity to spread the message of what went on at Newchurch to a receptive public.

When the march got back to the town center the police again attempted to stop it passing through, but the momentum easily swept aside their efforts to nick the banner. The police also ordered everyone out of McDonald and shut it down, saying there were "dangerous terrorists" in town so it wasnt safe for them. McDonalds hadnt been targetted... From one of the buildings in the center a huge eye-catching banner was drapped.

Once in town the march continued again back out on the ring roads, until at last the riot vans shut down the entire system and penned people in. By this stage there were several hundred police and they managed to snatch some people and herd the rest to a nearby park, having conjured up a section 14.

A section 14 was also placed on the meeting place in the town center and the campaign stall ordered to move on. Once they had finished the police promptly arrested the people at the stall and confiscated all the material.

The police continued to be very aggressive swearing at everyone insight and getting very irrate when passers by asked what was going on.

All in all we felt it was an excellent demo, and there was huge support from the public, many completely disguisted by the police over-reaction.

If anyone saw some of the arrests, in particular when they were snatching people towards the end can they pass on the word as some people want to sue.