10,000 will march to defend country life

TEN thousand angry but determined East Sussex country dwellers are set to converge on London on Sunday to take part in what they hope will be the biggest peacetime demonstration this country has ever seen.

They will be travelling by coach, train and car.

The march, expected to be 300,000 strong, will bring together farming interests, field sports enthusiasts and a broad section of people concerned at the plight of the countryside.

Countryside Alliance chief executive Richard Burge told the Express: 'Although this march will not just be about hunting, the outrage at the prospect of a ban has lit the fuse. This march is about rural liberty and livelihoods.

'Our march will call upon the Government, rather than upon Parliament, to help rural minorities.

'Since the postponement of our march last year it has become even clearer that most MPs are intent on doing things to the countryside rather than for it.

'Now only Government action, based on common sense, statesmanship and a willingness to lead its backbenchers away from prejudice and divisiveness, can resolve this looming crisis.'

The Countryside Alliance is demanding that the Government:

l Defends the right of rural people to live their lives responsibly in the way they choose

l Safeguards rural people from 'prejudiced attacks' on hunting with dogs and all other field sports

l Respects the values and customs of rural communities

l Ensures any laws directed at rural people have their consent

l Addresses the real problems of the countryside which are 'destroying its communities, its culture, and its children's future'.

The Alliance says council taxes are higher in rural areas, but rural people receive fewer services.

Rural homelessness has risen at more than three times the rate of urban areas.

Rural property prices are 15 per cent above national averages so local people on low wages cannot afford them.

The countryside suffers from a lack of transport, the Alliance adds, and also from unequal education provision.

Rural people are disadvantaged on cellular, ISDN and DSL communications.

Six rural pubs are closing every week. There are fewer pubs now in rural areas than during the Norman Conquest.

About 3,000 rural post offices have closed and three are shutting down every week.

About 4,000 rural bank branches have closed in the past 10 years and another 4,000 are expected to close in the next five years. Forty-two per cent of parishes have no shop of any kind.