Activists staged an impassioned protest in a busy Nando's as they attempted to persuade the chain to make its entire menu vegan.

Members of the 'Occupy Nando's' group held a demonstration in the restaurant in Thanet, Kent, as bemused families ate their dinner over the bank holiday weekend.

But the embattled campaigners' pleas calling for 'total animal liberation' appeared to fall on deaf ears as diners continued to tuck into their food and seemed to ignore their loudspeaker address.

Members of the 'Occupy Nando's' group held a demonstration in the Nando's in Thanet

Video footage shows the campaigners promoting a plant-based lifestyle while families carried on tucking in to their food.

The rally on Saturday night saw one activist use a loudspeaker to address the staff and customers for around fifteen minutes, as her companion showed distressing footage to diners.

As the group left the premises at the Westwood Cross shopping centre near Margate, customers could be heard cheering and clapping.

It follows accusations that birds reared on farms supplying Nando's, Lidl and Asda have been abused - claims which are being examined by company Avara Foods.

During the protest, the group of three played footage filmed by animal activist groups which appeared to show workers standing on birds to break their necks.

An Occupy Nando's spokeswoman said: 'We wanted to make Nando's customers aware of the way chickens are exploited for their flesh so they can make an informed choice if they wish to go on consuming violence.

'[We] urge Nando's to make their entire menu vegan.

'We are not asking for better conditions for these animals, we want total animal liberation and will keep showing up in places that sell this violence until that happens.'

The rally on Saturday night saw one activist use a loudspeaker to address the staff and customers for around fifteen minutes

On the group's Facebook page, they say the protests are part of a bid 'to bring awareness to the suffering that lead to their meal' and outlines how campaigners can deal with police if they turn up.

It follows a similar rally in Brighton last week where protesters wore chicken masks.

A Nando's spokesman said: 'We can confirm that there was a small organised disturbance in our Thanet restaurant on Saturday night and we are sorry for those customers who had their meals interrupted.

'We worked with the police to minimise any disruption in a peaceful way and allow our customers to enjoy their meal and have a great night'.

A police spokesman added: 'We were called at 8.25pm on May 25 to reports of a protest at Westwood Cross.

'The protestors were leaving when officers attended and there were no arrests.'

This follows harrowing footage released earlier this month which shows workers 'failing to properly euthanise' chickens at farms supplying Lidl, Asda and Nandos.

Video and photos appear to show injured and distressed birds living in cramped conditions at the sites across Northamptonshire, which serve some of the UK's major supermarkets.

The footage has been released by the charity Animal Equality, which claims workers can be seen breaking birds' necks and leaving them to die over several minutes on the floor.

The group also claims the birds were left to die before being pecked at by other chickens, and were kicked and stamped on by farm workers.