By David LennardAN anti-war group has found itself the centre of national and international media attention as members planned to publicise their cause during a visit to Britain by the U.

By David Lennard

AN anti-war group has found itself the centre of national and international media attention as members planned to publicise their cause during a visit to Britain by the U.S. President.

George Bush will in Britain next week and members of the Theatre of War group, based in the Bungay area, are planning to greet him.

To help get their anti-war message across, they intend to re-enact one of the most memorable events of the war in Iraq, when a giant statue of former president Saddam Hussein was toppled.

This time it will be a statue of George Bush that will be brought to the ground in the publicity stunt planned for Trafalgar Square, London, on November 20.

The statue will be six metres tall and made of papier mache, and it is hoped a model pink tank will do the demolishing act.

Group member, Graham Fell, said: “We are all opposed to the war in Iraq and want to get our message across in a way that will attract the attention of as many people as possible.

“The toppling of Saddam Hussein's statue was seen by millions of people all over the world, so we thought it would be a good idea to arrange something similar with a statue of George Bush.”

The group found itself under the media spotlight yesterday when representatives of national newspapers and television stations, as well as a film crew from American-based network CNN, beat a path to Mettingham to interview members.

Veteran anti-war protester, Mel Harrison, said: “It is very exciting to have the international media make their way to north Suffolk.

“But it shows that groups with a good and original idea can attract a lot of attention.”

david.lennard@eadt.co.uk