A GROUP of peace protestors hoping to make themselves heard at a defence industry event in Malvern have been banned from demonstrating.

Every year, The Campaign Against the Arms Trade (CAAT) and Malvern Individuals for Peace take part in a protest outside the Three Counties Showground against 3CDSE, which is the Three Counties Defence and Security Expo.

This year, however, an injunction was taken out against the group, meaning they could not set up outside as in recent years.

Addie May Swarbrick Schwarz, a protestor, said: "We’re appalled at this restriction of our democratic right to protest against this Arms Fair

"The police made no arrests last year. They let us continue and judged our actions to be nonviolent.

READ MORE: Protestors cause chaos at Three Counties Showground

"But Three Counties have sought this injunction to keep us away."

Despite being unable to protest at the showground, a group of CAAT protestors gathered on Wednesday (November 2) at the roundabout at Barnards Green.

Eyewitnesses reported seeing fences put up around the showground with security staff and guard dogs watching the entrances.

One unknown protestor seemed to have broken the injunction by manually adding "arms dealers Nov 2 -3" on the board outside the showground underneath the regular events listed.

The expo sees businesses in the defence and cyber-security industries come together in a networking event.

READ MORE: 3CDSE returns to Malvern despite peace group criticism

Hosted at the showground, it includes businesses from BaE Systems down to regional SMEs like law firms and technology companies.

The idea of the event is to bring together likeminded businesses from Worcestershire, Herefordshire and Gloucestershire to share ideas.

Last year, the protestors blocked entrance to the site and caused havoc on the roads leading to and from the showground.

That protest happened at a time when the showground was also acting as a Covid vaccination site, meaning some people had to turn away and miss out on their vaccinations including one man who said he had made a 180-mile round trip from Somerset for his jab.

Richard Morgan, from 3CDSE, said: "The Three Counties Defence and Security Expo profoundly believes in the importance of freedom of speech.

"That is why there is no court order in place that stops protestors expressing their views in a peaceful fashion.

"The majority of attendees at the expo have at some stage risked their lives to uphold the human rights and free speech that are so fundamental to the functioning of a democratic society.

"3CDSE has always been at pains to provide protestors an opportunity for civil discourse, an offer that has been consistently declined."