By Emily Parsons

Last updated at 13:17, Wednesday, 25 July 2012

Two mothers staged a peaceful protest aimed at raising awareness of the proposed cuts to the Armed Forces.

Helen Stevenson, left and Beverley Burgess

Helen Stevenson, 55, from Maryport and Beverley Burgess, 59, from Wigton, travelled to the war memorial in Carlisle city centre especially for the protest.

The two women, whose sons have both served tours in Afghanistan and Iraq, tied balloons to the railing around the memorial, alongside poems written by current and former soldiers and their parents especially for the occasion.

Ms Stevenson said: “These men, they go out and fight like brave lions for our country but when they come home they are treated like stray cats.

“They cannot fight for themselves and we will keep battling until the Government finds another way.”

Ms Burgess added: “It is a war memorial, so we didn’t want a big protest out of respect.

“These soldiers risk their lives for this country, and some are out on tour and know that when they come home they are being kicked out with their P45.”

Demonstrations were held at 61 war memorials across the UK, including the Cenotaph in London, between 11am and midday.

It had been organised by Dee Edwards, from the Protest Against MoD Cuts group.

The Government insists it needs to cut Army personnel from 102,000 to 82,000 to plug a gap in finances caused by previous overspends on defence.

First published at 11:26, Wednesday, 25 July 2012
Published by http://www.newsandstar.co.uk