AROUND 100 protesters took to the streets of Newport city centre last night to vent their opposition to the war in Iraq.

Holding placards, the protesters handed out anti-war leaflets to pedestrians and motorists at the Cenotaph on Chepstow Road.

Some demonstrators engaged in what Newport Stop the War Coalition's Clive Dunkley called "civil disobedience" when they held up rush-hour traffic by forming a human barrier across both sides of the road.

Police officers called to the scene persuaded protesters to clear the road. Most of those taking part complied and there were no arrests.

Sandy Cumner, 41, from Caerleon, and her five-and-a-half year-old-son Frankie McQuillan, were determined to show their feelings.

She said: "I think it's important to show that not everybody thinks the same and I don't think the majority of people in this country agree with the war.

"I sympathise with our soldiers in this war but I don't support them. "Frankie has come here because he doesn't want to see Iraqi schoolchildren bombed." Rosemary Anderson, 67, from Newport, is originally from Burma.

She was only a small child when she and her family fled her native country from the advancing Japanese army in 1942.

Her thoughts last night were with the little children of Iraq. She said: "Iraq has a very young population and half the population are under the age of 14.

"It is going to be impossible to avoid civilian casualties under a massive bombardment - how can you keep them to a minimum?"

Terry Bamford from the Anarchist Federation said: "I would like to ask one question. "Who put Saddam Hussein into power in the first place?"

Newport's Stop the War Coalition is organising buses from the city to attend the mass anti-war rally in London tomorrow. For further information contact 01633 211368.