CAMPAIGNERS yesterday blockaded Caterpillar's North-East plant to protest at what they claimed was the company's support of Israel's destruction of Palestinian communities.

About 20 protestors put a chain round the company's gates on the NW Industrial Estate, in Peterlee.

The move prevented traffic getting into or out of the firm.

Displaying banners and relaying messages over hand-held megaphones, the campaigners called on Caterpillar to stop exporting large diggers to Israel.

It was one of 40 protests taking place across the world.

Helen Attewell, of the County Durham Palestinian Solidarity Campaign, said: "The blockade is to highlight Caterpillar's role in continuing to supply Israel with bulldozers."

Ms Attewell, who has visited Palestine, said the large earth-moving machines from the company had been used since September 2000 to make more than 28,000 Palestinian people homeless.

The campaigners brought a half-scale model bulldozer, which they moved around the area on the back of a truck.

Ms Attewell said that the action had been timed to pre-empt a Caterpillar shareholders meeting in Chicago today, where one of the resolutions will be to call for a investigation into whether Caterpillar sending bulldozers to Israel violated its own Worldwide Code of Business Conduct

After an hour, police attended the Peterlee blockade and persuaded the campaigners to end their protest.

A spokesman at the plant said yesterday: "Caterpillar shares the world's concern over unrest in the Middle East and we certainly have compassion for all those affected by the political strife.

"However, more than two million Caterpillar machines and engines are at work in virtually every country and region of the world each day.

"We have neither the legal right nor the means to police individual use of that equipment.

"We believe any comments on political conflict in the region are best left to our governmental leaders who have the ability to impact action and advance the peace process."