Protesters kicked out of town park

Two campaigners dressed as penguins were removed from Telford Town Park after being told they would need a criminal record check and risk assessment to hand out leaflets.

Rachel Whittaker and Neil Donaldson, from the Wrekin Stop War campaign group, were furious after being told they could not hand out information on climate change yesterday lunchtime.

Rachel, 34, from Wellington, said: "We were handing out leaflets entitled Why Care about Climate Change?

"We were only doing it for about 15 minutes before we got removed.

"It was only a fun thing. I was saying to people 'Hello I'm a penguin and my ice cap has melted so I've ended up in Telford - can I give you a leaflet'. People were loving it."

Rachel said three members of park staff then approached her and Neil and told them they would need permission for what they were doing.

"I was told we had to go to the manager's office to speak to the manager," she said. "We were told we couldn't do it without a Criminal Records Bureau check and a risk assessment."

Rachel said she believed they should be free to hand out leaflets in a public space.

"I showed them a leaflet and I said if you want to talk about risks, let's talk about climate change," she said.

"I'm not disputing the importance of safety of children, but we were not there to put anybody at risk.

"We were simply dressed up as penguins handing out leaflets."

Rachel said the pair left peacefully, not wanting to disturb people's enjoyment of the park, but vowed to take the issue up with park management.

Telford & Wrekin Council, which manages the park, said anyone wanting to hand out information there had to give advance notice of who they were and what they were distributing.

Spokesman David Morgan said: "They have to be CRB checked and risk assessed under the Child Protection Act. There are a lot of children playing in the park at this time of year and we have a duty of care to them and our adult visitors.

"The people asked to leave had given no notice or information. We did not know who they were or what they were doing.

"Organisations and individuals should always plan ahead and get permission from the council before doing anything in the town park to avoid any problems or misunderstandings."

By Lizzie Yates