FOURTEEN members of the fathers' rights group Fathers 4 Justice were arrested yesterday on suspicion of assault and criminal damage after storming York Minster.

Last night, two men dressed as clergymen abandoned a rooftop protest at the cathedral after being talked down by police.

They climbed on the roof via scaffolding as other members of the group stormed the Communion service being attended by the Church of England's General Synod, yesterday at 10.30am.

Dressed as vicars, nuns and monks, eight of the group charged into York Minster and brought chaos to the service.

In the melee, as staff tried to keep the protestors out, an internal glass door was allegedly broken and a member of staff assaulted.

Fathers 4 Justice founder Matt O'Connor was dragged out of the building by cathedral staff after being rugby tackled while making his way to the pulpit.

As he picked himself up from the floor, he shouted: "Shame on you. Justice for fathers.

"Remember half a million children are deprived of contact with their fathers and the Church does nothing. Shame on you."

He was later allowed back into the service to address the Synod over what the group says is the Church's failure to take the lead in lobbying the Government about parents who are denied access to their children by the courts.

Before the protest began, senior members of the Anglican Church, including the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, and the Archbishop of York, Dr David Hope, had filed into the minster.

A spokesman for North Yorkshire Police confirmed that 12 members of the group were arrested on suspicion of assault and criminal damage.

The two men who climbed up the minster scaffolding were arrested when they got down for wasting police time.

They were also arrested on suspicion of assault and damage along with the others.

All were given two weeks' police bail while officers decide whether to prosecute them.

Last night, Paul Watson, North-East co-ordinator for the group, told The Northern Echo that the minster protest was one of many planned for the summer.

He said: "This is the early days in the summer of discontent. People have got to start taking notice.

"There will be more and more high-profile protests and people, by the end of the summer, are going to know everything about Fathers 4 Justice."

He added that the group did not condone violence under any circumstances.

The Dean of York, the Very Reverend Keith Jones, said: "We deeply regret this violent intrusion into an act of Christian worship and witness - that should not have happened.

"No doubt there are real issues at stake for those who intruded.

"They have been given an opportunity to share their concerns with the congregation here."

The group's most high-profile demonstration was a purple flour bomb attack on Tony Blair in the House of Commons.

On Friday, members burst into Teesside Crown Court and staged a sit-down protest.