Protests against Brexit staged at border counties

Hundreds of people have taken part in protests on the border with the Republic of Ireland to protest against the UK leaving the European Union.

They were organised following the Prime Minister's announcement that she would trigger Article 50 to begin the Brexit process before the end of March next year.

Theresa May has said she does not want to see a return to the "borders of the past", but those communities living on either side of the border with the Republic of Ireland, which will remain in the EU, say they are not reassured.

There were six protests staged at locations across the border on Saturday.

Declan Fearon from Border Communities Against Brexit, told UTV, a hard border would have huge implications.

“It makes a huge difference if you impose a hard border by allowing customs checkpoints to be re-erected,” he said.

“There are over 300 border crossings from here all the way up to Derry. Does that mean we have to go back to the past where all of those minor roads were actually closed so it divided farms and communities?”

The demonstrations come at the end of a week when the pound plunged to its worst depths in decades after the Prime Minister laid out her Brexit timetable at the Conservative Party Conference.