PRO-HUNT campaigners waving placards and banners today held a demonstration when Transport minister Alistair Darling launched a new bus project in Thanet.

The protestors, angry at the Government’s proposed Hunting Bill gathered outside the Westwood bus depot at Margate Road, Ramsgate, this morning.

A Stagecoach spokeswoman said that the demonstrators “held a peaceful protest” and added that the minister saw the gathering as he was driven out of the depot in an electric bus to Ramsgate station for his link back to London.

She added that the minister was “impressed” with the investment in public transport with the Thanet Loop project that will provide bus links every ten minutes between the three main towns in the district.

Alistair Darling said: "Bus services provide vital links for people to access employment, healthcare, shopping and leisure facilities and I'm delighted to see that the funding we awarded in January is not only bringing real benefits to people in Thanet but will also create sustainable bus services that will become commercially viable in their own right."

The Secretary of State joined Brian Souter, founder of the Stagecoach bus company, in a ceremony to officially launch a new service in Thanet that it is jointly funding with the Department of Transport.

Stagecoach has invested more than £1.6 million in a fleet of 18 easy access Dart single decker buses that will travel every ten minutes between Margate, Ramsgate and Broadstairs.

Extra funding of £550,000 has come from the government’s urban bus challenge and Kent County Council local transport funding to create a high quality, high frequency circular service in this area, enhancing access to medical facilities, employment and leisure opportunities.

This particular award was a pilot project under the Department for Transport's Kickstart programme which are schemes with a certain amount of initial funding that have the potential to attract enough customers to have a sustainable future - in many cases as commercial services.

Paul Southgate, Stagecoach managing director for east Kent, said: “This is one of the biggest innovative projects to be launched in the UK and we believe it will encourage more people to use public transport to travel between the three main towns in the district. Buses will run regularly and if the service works well we hope to expand it to the rest of Thanet.”

Also on show at the launch was the futuristic Designline Hybrid Electric Bus that is on trial in the region and Stagecoach’s horse drawn antique omnibus. The Monday to Saturday Loop service begins next week.