

Animal rights protesters have claimed responsibility for smashing a window at London Road McDonald’s on the day a vegan protester was in court charged with causing criminal damage there.

Dylan Roffey, 23, of Terminus Road, Brighton appeared in the dock at Brighton Magistrates Court wearing a Meat the Victim t-shirt yesterday morning as her trial was adjourned until 11 September.

She denies two charges of criminal damage, causing £3,000 of damage to furniture and ordering machines, and obstructing arrest during a protest on May 17.

Protesters wearing the distinctive animal masks used in various vegan protests across the city organised by DxE Brighton chanted outside.

But in the early hours of the morning, at about 3am, a window was smashed and an email purporting to be from the Animal Liberation Front was later posted online claiming responsibility.

The email said: “As there was a call to action to ‘disrupt McDonald’s however you see fit’ we decided to smash some windows.

“We also made the decision of hitting the exact McDonald’s our comrade was arrested at for protesting the night before their trial started, to send a clear message; they do not intimidate us.

“It wasn’t a surprise to see two plain clothed cops sitting in an unmarked car almost in front of the McMurder so we waited out until they were forced to move by a delivery lorry, then we brought hammer against glass smashing all windows on the front of the ‘restaurant’.

“Maccies, you can carry on trying to scare people, we will happily burn you down.

“Animal Liberation Front.”

A police spokeswoman confirmed that the force had received a report at 3.18am on Thursday (25 July) that the front window of McDonald’s Restaurant in London Road, Brighton, has been smashed at about 3am.

The DxE Brighton Twitter account tweeted a video of the May protest on Tuesday and Wednesday this week, with the hashtag #disruptmcdonalds. Yesterday, they tweeted a link to the website where the Animal Liberation Front email was published.

A spokeswoman yesterday said: “Animals cry out in fear and pain before they end up in McDonald’s. Their dismembered bodies served as a cheap processed meal. While countless innocent lives are taken McDonald’s continues to make profit.

“This evil corporation has no respect for life. Not for the humans who work for them, not for the customers who buy their toxic products and certainly not for the animals whose exploitation and murder keeps this place in business.”

The dozen or so protesters outside court later went to the same branch and protested outside shortly before midday.

By the time police arrived, they had dispersed and no offences were recorded.