Animal rights protesters targeted a branch of NatWest bank claiming it is funding animal suffering.

A demonstration by animal rights activists from across Essex took place outside NatWest in Braintree High Street on Wednesday.

They claim the bank has funded animal experiments by loaning £24.5 million to a company called Huntingdon Life Sciences (HLS).

Cambridge-based HLS is a large contract laboratory and carries out medical research using live animals.

The campaigners, who have already protested in Colchester, are calling for a halt to all experiments involving animals and want the bank to cut links with the firm.

Protester Julie Moore, from Earls Colne, said: "What we are doing is raising awareness of what NatWest is doing among its customers in Essex.

"The protests have gone very well, with many people stopping outside the bank and hearing for the first time exactly where their money is going."

She added protests are planned for branches in Maldon and Chelmsford. A spokesperson for NatWest Group said: "HLS is a customer of NatWest, which is one of a consortium of banks which lend to the company.

"Animal testing is an emotive issue and individuals hold views which range from animals should have the same rights as humans to those who feel animals exist for human use.

"It is for the Government to decide the appropriate line to be drawn between differing viewpoints.

"NatWest does not condone needless cruelty to animals, but HLS is a legitimate business which has to meet the standards set by the appropriate regulatory and supervisory bodies. Standards are a matter for the regulatory and supervisory bodies to handle."

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