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A vegan has paid £1,000 to project his message on a huge Derby city centre billboard.

Philip Shore said he hopes the advertisement will get people thinking about animal welfare and what impact their diets have on our planet.

He forked out hundreds of pounds of his own cash on the giant billboard, which can be seen on the corner of Abbey Street and Macklin Street.

The image shows a pair of hands holding a baby chick with the words reading: "The greatest thing you can do to end animal suffering, is to just eat something else."

The 62-year-old, of Little Eaton, said the sign aims to encourage people to think about adopting a more plant-based diet.

(Image: Philip Shore)

The retired manager said: "I believe what it says is true, I have been a vegetarian for 40 years and a vegan for quite a few years.

"The time is right - people understand the kind of things that are happening to animals and are getting more interested in it.

"What I've put there, it's not shouting out you have to become vegan, it's that if you eat less animals you're eating less suffering.

"It's encouraging people to change their diet and not necessarily have to go the whole hog.

(Image: Philip Shore)

The billboard will stand for around four weeks until it is taken down.

Phil continued: "Some organisations have used a lot more hard hitting figures, and I think people would be shocked by those things.

"I have thought for a long time that if slaughter houses were in the middle of the high street with no windows, a lot of people wouldn't eat animals.

"For the large part, the chickens that people eat are bred in very harsh conditions in huge sheds and are killed within a few weeks of their birth.

"It's their choice, but if it jogs them to find out a bit more, that's a start and I'd be happy with that."