IT was the biggest public rally in Hereford since the poll tax demonstration.

They arrived in their thousands to support their schools and warn Herefordshire Council - we will be watching you.

The council may have killed off plans to close or merge 37 schools but the protestors will not forget.

Yesterday they took their protests to the streets of Hereford, in one of the biggest demonstrations the city - or the county - has ever seen.

Organised by HACS - Herefordshire Against Closing Schools - thousands marched from Merton Meadows around the city, culminating in a mass rally in High Town.

Waving banners and chanting "save our schools", it seemed every pocket of the county was represented, from Bosbury to Bromyard, from King's Caple to Kington. With 36 pupils, Dilwyn Primary School is one of the smallest in the county but brought a coach of 56 supporters.

Linda Ashton, a Key Stage co-ordinator, said: "Parents, grandparents and prospective parents have all come here today. We still don't really know what the authority has in store for us, so there's definitely a point to this rally."

Wearing white "save our school" T-shirts and constantly chanting, about 150 Clehonger Primary School supporters were among the most recognisable. They even had their own song - a re-write of Abba's Mamma Mia, to the words of "Mr Salmon, leave our school alone."

Headteacher Sue Jones, said: "The people who have come here today have come here to protest. The parents and pupils here feel very strongly about this school. We've defeated the proposals, but it's not over yet."

An hour before the march, the crowd stretched from Blackfriars Street past Hereford United's ground.

According to rally organisers, 5,000 people took part, but police representatives put the figure at 2,500.