ANIMAL rights campaigners are facing prosecution from Colchester Council after they glued posters to buildings and spray painted paw prints on walls in a demonstration against animal cruelty.

The action from the pressure group Animal Rebellion took place on Monday night when posters reading ‘Don’t break any hearts this Valentine’s Day, be part of a plant-based future’ were plastered on Colchester Town Hall as well as the Metro Bank and HMV.

By Tuesday morning, however, some of the posters in Colchester had been torn down.

Culver Square, Trinity Square and the High Street appeared to be the main parts of Colchester which were targeted although the pink spray-painted animal paws were less noticeable across the city.

But Colchester Council, which operates what it describes as a ‘zero tolerance’ policy to fly-posting, said it will have no option but to take enforcement action against the group for breaching the town centre public spaces protection order.

Thorpe-le-Soken photographer Stephen Bone, 40, said the poster plastering and spray painting was done in good faith.

He said: “Last night's Paint the Streets action was completed with love and with good intentions by members of Animal Rebellion across the UK.

“We are asking people to show love to all beings this Valentine’s Day, and going forward, to not break any hearts of the billions of beings held in captivity on factory farms and testing laboratories.”

Mr Bone was previously charged with criminal damage and damaging property in October after videos emerged of him allegedly pouring milk on products in the luxury department stores of Selfridges and Fortnum and Mason.

He denied the four charges put to him when he appeared at Highbury Corner Magistrates’ Court last year.

A Colchester Council spokesman said the authority has no choice but to take action after the incident.

He said: “While there may be exemptions that permit the display of certain materials in some locations with the permission of the property owner, the council – like most other local authorities – operates a 'zero tolerance' policy.

“If any individual, group or promoter is found to be fly-posting, then we have no option but to enforce against them.”