NORTH-EAST peace protestors have failed in their bid to meet Tony Blair and ask for an end to the bombing of Afghanistan.

A delegation of 20 Darlington For Peace members, led by protestors from the Prime Minister's Sedgefield constituency, in County Durham, delivered a letter to Mr Blair's house on Friday.

Although the group had hoped to hand the letter to Mr Blair, he did not meet them and they had to give it to armed police guarding his home.

The letter was critical of Mr Blair's role in supporting the bombing of Afghanistan and asked him not to support a war against Iraq.

Copies of the letter are also being sent to Mr Blair by hundreds members of the peace group in Darlington and churchgoers from the town.

Mike Winstanley, on behalf of the group, said: "We hoped to meet the Prime Minister or his representative so we could tell him that his support for President Bush's campaign of terror is not in our name, and that Mr Blair should use Easter to reflect on his Christian faith.

"The fact that we were ignored will not dissuade us in our campaign to end the war in Afghanistan and prevent a new war against Iraq."

The group was formed by people who met in Darlington town centre to hold peace vigils against the war in Afghanistan.