SCORES of drivers on the A3 honked horns in support as Petersfield anti-Trump campaigners took part in a nationwide banner protest.

Around 40 protestors gathered at Bell Hill to hang homemade banners – with the words ‘Build Bridges Not Walls – over the A3 bridge on the day of Donald Trump’s inauguration as US president, Friday, January 20.

They joined in the ‘Bridges Not Walls’ campaign, which saw action in 150 towns and cities around the UK, and across five continents, to do something positive on what they saw as a dark day for politics and for the planet.

Two former Petersfield mayors, Teresa Jamieson and Liz Mullenger, who were both in office during the 1980s, felt compelled to lend their support.

“The slogan ‘Bridges Not Walls’ says it all,” said Liz, of Liss. “I can’t bear to think about all the division but keeping silent is not doing anything. Teresa, of Grayshott, agreed: “If we are silent, they have won. ‘Bridges Not Walls’ is a very strong message”.

One of the protest organisers, Priscilla Ellis-Canzio, said it was about being active and positive, and bringing people together in solidarity.

“There is so much going on at the moment, and so much ‘ain’t it awful’, but sitting on the sofa won’t help. There is a need for people to be heard,” she said.

Organiser Anna Hocking was delighted with the turn-out and the support from motorists, who were honking horns, flashing lights and waving.

A police officer arrived at the protest but seemed happy it was a peaceful one, and wished the protestors ‘good luck’.

Anna’s husband Drake Hocking, a forester, had environmental concerns, with Trump a climate change denier, but was upbeat about people power.

“This is about more than Trump. It’s about big global issues. We don’t need to despair though, we need co-operation and collective action,” he said.

Jenny Bird had travelled from Upham, near Bishop’s Waltham, to join in. “I just wanted to come and say that we don’t have to preach hate. There is another way of looking at the world.”

There were representatives from Petersfield Write Angle there, and from the East Hampshire-based Rural Refugee Network (RRN).

RRN co-chair Julia Thistleton-Smith said after campaigning for refugees in the county and in the UK for two years, the group was worried about Trump’s influence on the issue.

“It’s a scary time for a lot of people and we want to do something positive to mark today,” she added.