A WOMAN dressed as a bear staged a lone protest against an animal circus at the weekend.

The demonstrator, who would give her name only as the Teesdale Bear, made a stand against Peter Jolly's Circus, which was visiting Barnard Castle, County Durham.

The circus is one of only a handful in the UK to use animals, including camels, zebras, horses and a bear.

The Teesdale Bear stood in Barnard Castle town centre on Saturday with a placard which said: "Your fun is their misery."

She told The Northern Echo: "I don't normally do protests like this, but I was sickened to see the circus when I had to drive past it.

"When I found out there were animals, I thought I had to do something. I found a bear suit lying around, so I decided to do the protest in that.

"The people in Teesdale obviously have a great affinity for bears and lots of children came up asking for bear hugs.

Peter Jolly, who runs the circus with his father, also called Peter, said that the protest did not affect the number of visitors to the circus, which visits Catterick, North Yorkshire, this week.

He said: "It has not affected us, we've got plenty of bookings."

Mr Jolly said that the animals were treated well and had regular checks from animal health experts.

Craig Redmond, campaigns officer for the Captive Animals' Protection Society, said: "I thought the protest was great."