FEARS of chaos on the streets of Tyneside proved unfounded as the first day of Labour's spring conference passed peacefully yesterday.

A smaller-than-expected crowd of 1,500 Countryside Alliance demonstrators staged a noisy but trouble-free protest against the Government's ban on hunting with dogs.

Despite an embarrassing lapse when a Fathers 4 Justice protestor dressed as Superman evaded the 1,000 police on duty to stage a 17-hour protest on the Tyne Bridge, the tight security surrounding the Sage, Gateshead, deterred any potential trouble.

Even Tyneside's transport system appeared to cope with the police-imposed road closures as many drivers heeded warnings to stay at home.

The most vocal opposition to Tony Blair came on Newcastle's Quayside, where pro-hunting demonstrators sounded horns and waved placards across the river from the helipad where the Prime Minister arrived to deliver his conference address.

Among the crowd were members of the Braes of Derwent hunt, including Philip Walker, of Tow Law, County Durham. He said: "We want to get the message over to leave the countryside alone."

Despite a minor confrontation with BNP activists, who attempted to join the protest, the meeting remained good-humoured.

Police were left red-faced, however, when Fathers 4 Justice campaigner Steven Fletcher broke through the security cordon and clambered up the Tyne Bridge at 8pm on Thursday.

The 34-year-old scaffolder from Sunderland, who previously protested on Middlesbrough's Transporter Bridge, Came down at 1pm yesterday and was arrested for causing a public nuisance. Northumbria Police reported the protestor as their only arrest

A campaign spokesman said: "The police spent £3m on security and it took a man in a £30 fancy dress suit to breach it."