THE region could be set for a wave of New Yorkstyle protests against the way the Government is handling the nation’s debt crisis.

Groups have formed in Darlington, Middlesbrough and Northallerton, in North Yorkshire, to protest against Government austerity measures, bank-bailouts and the rising cost of living.

They plan to hold peaceful protests, similar to an ongoing series of demonstrations in Wall Street and Times Square, in New York, known as Occupy Wall Street.

Like New York, they plan to meet in an area of their town centres, and “occupy” the area as a way of making their views known.

Newcastle is so far the only city in the region to hold a similar protest.

About a hundred people met on Saturday next to Grey’s Monument, in the centre of the town.

Some have set up camp there indefinitely.

Trade unions and anticuts organisations have come out in favour of the protests.

A spokesman from Darlington Against Cuts said: “These ‘occupy’ movements are a phenomena that is growing and the politicians should act to support ordinary people – the 99 per cent, not, the one per cent who are their rich friends.

“Darlington council is about to announce more cuts in the region totalling £14m, including probably the closure of the town’s arts centre. These cuts are not necessary.”

The “occupy” groups have formed on social networking site Facebook.

The Occupy Middlesbrough group page states: “We are the 99 per cent.”

Their protest is due to be held at the cross roads of Linthorpe and Corporation Road, in the town centre, on Tuesday, November 29.

Occupy Darlington will be held on Saturday, October 29, in High Row, in the centre of the town from 2pm.

The third group, Occupy Northallerton, the smallest of the three, has not yet publicly revealed when it plans to meet up to protest.

Kevin Rowan, regional secretary for Northern TUC, said: “It is no wonder that growing numbers of people are angry at the unfairness of savage cuts, while the banks are back to business as usual.”

New York’s Occupy Wall Street campaign, which began last month, mirrored uprisings against banks and austerity measures around the world.

The long-running Spanish Indignant movement has been on-going since May, and the often-volatile Greek anti-cuts demonstrations started in May last year.

The wave of revolutionary demonstrations in the Middle-East since December last year, known as the Arab Spring, is also thought to have inspired protestors.