A MASS demonstration in support of jailed animal rights protestor Sean Kirtley of Malvern will take place outside the Sequani animal testing labs in Ledbury tomorrow, September 6.

Riot police will be on standby near the demonstration, which will take place at noon.

Kirtley, who lived at Orford Way, has became a figurehead for the animal rights movement across the UK, since he was jailed for four-and-a-half years in June for his part in the campaign against the Bromyard Road lab.

Kirtley, aged 42, has launched an appeal against his sentence.

Police have been keen to contact the organisers of tomorrow’s demonstration, which is being advertised on the internet as “The Carnival Against Vivisection”.

But protestors say they are reluctant to contact police, because of what happened to Kirtley.

Chief Inspector Shane Hancock said: “We’ve had no contact with the organisers, but I guess that’s no real surprise.

“It’s a case of seeing what turns up.”

He added: “There is nothing to indicate that violence will take place and nothing to suggest that the demonstration won’t pass off smoothly.”

Police press officer, Peter Butcher confirmed that Police Support Units would be nearby.

These are transit vans, each one containing a sergeant and six constables in riot gear.

He said: “Whether we’ll use them from the start is very much in doubt. We haven’t tooled up for World War III.”