PROTESTORS took to the streets in Salisbury this morning to raise their voices against cuts to public services including police, fire, libraries, the NHS and schools.

Organised by the campaign group Salisbury Against the Cuts, with the support of trades unions including Unite, Unison, the National Union of Teachers and the Fire Brigades Union, several hundred marchers assembled at Millstream Approach and marched to Queen Elizabeth Gardens.

Andy Newman, branch secretary of the GMB, marched alongside his 10-year-old son Oscar.

He said: “The cuts being imposed by the Government will have a devastating impact on the local economy in Wiltshire, which is already in a precarious position, and for a lot of people it could be a disaster.”

Mark Wareham from Unison said: “We need our public services for the good of our local community and to support the most vulnerable.

“The private sector will not fill the gap left by the public sector job losses on their own and these cuts will hurt the local and national economy.

“At times like these we need our public services most and yet they are being decimated by savage cuts.”

Crowds lined the streets to watch them go by and they were led by Salisbury band Casa de Samba to the park, where they were addressed by union leaders and urged to support the national TUC-led march being held in London on March 26.