Peace campaigners are to march on RAF Fylingdales tomorrow in protest at the war on Afghanistan and the threat of upgrading the moorland early warning station.

A packed public meeting at the Friends Meeting House in Scarborough staged by the newly formed Scarborough and Fylingdales Action Network and Stop the War Coalition was told by one of Britain's leading campaigners, Sylvia Boyes "We must be prepared for a long haul but we have to use words instead of violence".

Mrs Boyes who was one of the famous Greenham Common campaigners in the 1980's said the new group was gathering momentus as more people realised that using warfare against Afghanistan was not the answer.

"Much is being said about the so-called 'Sons of Star Wars' which RAF Fylingdales could become, but in reality we know very little about the plans. It is time we as a country saw ourselves as the cause of the situation, not the solution. Our modern warfare is reliant on terror".

Mrs Boyes added "If we stay silent then by implication we are all terrorists. It is important for everyone to stand up and do whatever they feel is right".

She advocated "non-violent direct action" in the campaign aginst Sons of Star wars at RAF Fylingdales. "It is not a benign station - it is part of the nuclear warfare strategy".

Britain claimed Mrs Boyes, supplies arms to 40 of the "40 most supressive regimes" in the world.

The meeting heard that campaigners will be marching from Whitby to Fylingdales where they will scatter white poppies. Street protests are also being held in Whitby and Scarborough.

Susan Ram chairman of the new group said already several hundred signatures had been collected against the Fylingdales proposal threat and sent to Prime Minister Tony Blair.

"In the aftermath of the horror of September 11 and the subsequent progress towards war and further devastation, the question of what will happen at Fylingdales has acquired even greater urgency".

She said an upgraded Fylingdales station could provide international terorism 'with obvious, high visibility targets".

"Fylingdales along with the US military listening post at Menwith Hill could well find themselves on a terrorist hit-list if this project goes ahead with unimaginable consequences for the people of Scarborough and North Yorkshire".

Ms Ram said upgrading Fylingdales would not provide increased security for Britain but for the USA. The response from President Bush and Premier Blair since the terrorist attacks on Washington and New York last month had been one of 'forboding and anger'.

Jonathan Dixon the Green Party candidate in the Scarborough and Whitby constituency at the last general Election warned that if Fylingdales was upgraded "the world will be a more dangerous place - it would make our area a potential target".

Yuri Prasad of the Socialist Alliance told the standing-room only meeting "There is growing suspicion and anger at the system we are living under. We need to change the logic of this war on terrorism and on all wars".

He said it was 'outrageous' that the USA which had now made two attempts to wipe out Osman bin Laden, should have armed him and his regime in the first place.

He told the meeting "We can make a difference because I believe our campaign against Son of Star Wars will go from strength to strength".