Protesters stood in silence in Bury St Edmunds on Sunday marking their opposition to the renewal of the Trident nuclear missile system.

East Anglian Daily Times: Bury St Edmunds Quakers hold a silent vigil outside Moyse's Hall to protest against renewal of the Trident nuclear missile system.Bury St Edmunds Quakers hold a silent vigil outside Moyse's Hall to protest against renewal of the Trident nuclear missile system.

Taking place between 1pm and 2pm, around 30 Bury Quakers joined the silent vigil outside Moyse’s Hall to mark their opposition to weapons of mass destruction.

“It was a silent witness and that can be very powerful,” said Jill Segger afterwards. “It was a mixture of responses. Some were very supportive, indeed some were argumentative as you would expect. We only had one nasty comment.”

She said they timed the silent vigil ahead of a national protest taking place in London next weekend.

Later this summer the government will discuss the renewal of the Trident programme.

East Anglian Daily Times: Bury St Edmunds Quakers hold a silent vigil outside Moyse's Hall to protest against renewal of the Trident nuclear missile system.Bury St Edmunds Quakers hold a silent vigil outside Moyse's Hall to protest against renewal of the Trident nuclear missile system.

The Bury group said they believed “all human life is precious” and said the possession of nuclear weapons as a deterrent was “faithless”, while to use them would be a “sin”.

They also criticised the expense of the scheme during a time of government-imposed austerity.

East Anglian Daily Times: Bury St Edmunds Quakers hold a silent vigil outside Moyse's Hall to protest against renewal of the Trident nuclear missile system.Bury St Edmunds Quakers hold a silent vigil outside Moyse's Hall to protest against renewal of the Trident nuclear missile system.