PROTESTERS gathered in Bournemouth’s Central Gardens on Saturday to speak out against President Donald Trump’s visit to the UK.

Echoing the national protests which took place in London on Friday, demonstrators held up placards in protest of the US leader, while chanting phrases such as ‘Dump the Trump’ and ‘2, 4, 6, 8, we don’t want your fear and hate’.

Messages on signs ranged from ‘No to racism no to Trump’ to pithier expressions like ‘Toxic Trump’.

Other protesters were taking a stand against his administration’s policies on immigration and the environment, with words such as ‘Cage Trump not children’ and ‘Fossil fool’.

Global Justice Bournemouth organised the protest at Bournemouth War Memorial, which over 40 people attended.

Members of organisations including Friends of the Earth, Amnesty International, and Greenpeace also took part.

Jane Jones, member of Global Justice Bournemouth, helped organise the protest.

She said: “A lot of us locally felt a bit sad we couldn’t make it up to the national demonstration in London so we thought ‘why not do something here’?

“Trump is president of the most powerful nation on earth, and he’s probably, currently, the greatest threat to our survival as a species, both in terms of his nuclear arsenal and complete lack of diplomacy – and, obviously, there’s the climate change concern as well.

“We want to stand up and say we don’t want our leaders to be getting into bed with Trump. The trade deal in itself is a concern because what is that going to lead to? Are we going to be looking at further deregulation and further privatisation of our economy and public services? We don’t want a trade deal where it’s at any cost.”

Commenting on the positive side of the protest, she added: “I think the wonderful thing about this opportunity is that it can bring together lots of civil society groups, lots of individuals who have different interests and concerns – we can start having a dialogue about how to build an alternative and much better future.”