Children's clothes laid on beach in Gaza war protest

Led by Donkeys said it hoped the installation would show the scale of the number of children killed

A three-mile (5km) long line of old children's clothes has been strewn along Bournemouth beach in a protest at the war in Gaza.

Activists from the Led by Donkeys group said they were laying more than 11,000 sets of clothes to represent children killed on both sides of the conflict since 7 October.

It took a team of 80 people five hours to lay the clothes.

Although Israel has said it strives to avoid civilian casualties, including issuing evacuation orders, more than 11,500 under-18s have been killed according to Palestinian health officials.

The line of clothes stretched for three miles (5km) along the beach

In a statement, Led By Donkeys called for the US and UK governments to push for an immediate ceasefire.

“All children are innocent whether they’re Palestinian or Israeli," it said.

The line stretched from Canford Cliffs in the west, almost reaching Boscombe in the east.

Organiser James Sadri said: "If you were to walk this line it would take you an hour to walk past 5km of children who've been killed - and that should be a wake-up call for all of us.

"We're trying to communicate the scale of the killing - you cannot communicate that by writing a number in an article or saying it in a news bulletin, you have to see it, you have to feel it."

The clothes are set to be removed, cleaned and distributed to charities and second-hand shops.

Dog walker Rebecca Ross said the installation was "so sad"

Among those on the beach who saw the installation, Rebecca Ross said it was "shocking".

"It's so, so sad - each represents a life lost which is so sickening," she said.

Another beach visitor Sheila Dayman also said it was "sad and shocking".

"They're all children, innocent lives on both sides, Israelis and Palestinians. I'm not political but we just pray for peace," she said.

Led By Donkeys began in 2018 as an anti-Brexit group and has since been responsible for stunts including paining the road outside the Russian Embassy in London in the colours of the Ukrainian flag.

It also set up a sting operation in which the ex-health secretary Matt Hancock and ex-chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng apparently discussed rates to advise a sham firm in March 2023.