Actress Carey Mulligan was among protesters who left teddy bears outside the gates of Downing Street in protest at persistent, deadly attacks on Aleppo.

Hundreds gathered in London's Whitehall to call on the Government to do more to end civilian deaths in the Syrian conflict.

They said the teddy bears represented the thousands of children trapped in rebel-held eastern areas of the city.

The Syrian government regime recently stepped up attacks, with civilians being pulled dead from the rubble after numerous devastating barrel bombings.

Heavy clashes between regime and rebel forces followed the end of a "humanitarian pause" in Aleppo on Saturday night, according to the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.


Image: An image from campaign group the Aleppo Media Centre

During the protest in central London, demonstrators wore "Save Aleppo" t-shirts and some carried signs urging "No bomb zone now."

Calls for action ranged from a no-fly zone to more pressure on Russia, Syria's key ally in the conflict.

Mulligan, star of films such as Shame and Drive - and an ambassador for the charity War Child - said one of her daughter's toys was among the teddies.

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The actress said she hoped the protesters could send a "real message" that "we really want our government to be the one to step up and lead this and try to stop the fighting in Aleppo".

"We need to hold people accountable," said the actress.

"There are widespread accusations of war crimes being committed and that can't be done with impunity ... They're breaking humanitarian international laws.

"I've got a one-year-old daughter and I think for a moment about what it would be like for my daughter to experience any of the things that are happening in Syria.

The bombs destroying lives in Aleppo

"It's unbearable - it's a lottery where you are born in this world. We were lucky enough to be born here and these children are born in Syria, in Aleppo, and they are experiencing a living hell."

In a statement, Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said: "The UK will continue to work with its international partners to pursue a ceasefire to stop the bombing campaign."

The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights has called attacks in Syria and eastern Aleppo "crimes of historic proportions".

Hospitals and schools are among the targets that have been attacked, as the death toll in the civil war stands at more than 300,000.