HUNDREDS of peace movement activists were heading north yesterday to form a "peace camp" on Tony Blair's doorstep.

The Blair Ditch Project, as it has been named, will see hundreds of people from across the country set up camp at Wingate Farm, Sedgefield, County Durham, in protest against Blair's involvement in the war against Iraq.

Yesterday, bus operator Joe Letts, who travelled to Iraq as a human shield with his double-decker bus in 2003, was on his way to the North-East with his vehicle to try to get the anti-war message across.

Mr Letts - along with Luci Carolan, Theo Simon and Robert Ward - launched the Blair Ditch Project to draw people's attention to the situation in Iraq, and is asking people to vote for the strongest anti-war candidate.

He said: "We are asking for as many volunteers as possible to come up to Sedgefield to explain to the Sedgefield people that they are the only people who can help the rest of Britain to get rid of Tony Blair without getting rid of the Labour party.

"We want to humbly ask the people of Sedgefield to vote against Tony Blair bearing in mind what he has done in Iraq.''

On the group's website, www.blairditchproject.com, it declares: "We hope to make people realise that the wars of this term and possible future wars are the most important issue of this electoral term, behind the immigration smokescreen."

The group maintains that it is non-partisan and is coming to the area to talk to voters about Britain's involvement in the Iraq war.

The camp will invite residents to go along to a number of talks at the farm campsite and is also planning a weekend of music and entertainment for the forthcoming Bank Holiday weekend.