An army of Brighton and Hove Albion supporters will march on the Labour Party conference to hammer home the case for a stadium at Falmer.

Thousands of fans wearing their colours will pour on to the seafront to protest outside the Brighton Centre as Prime Minister Tony Blair meets delegates.

A demonstration will assemble at Madeira Drive at 5.30pm on September 27, the second day of the conference.

Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott, who ordered the reopening of the Falmer planning inquiry, will be among delegates greeted with chants of "there is only one site in Brighton".

Demonstrators from across the country will join a host of different protests outside the conference but the Albion march is expected to be the biggest.

Paul Samrah, chairman of the Falmer For All campaign, said: "It's important for supporters to take to the streets when we have the decision-makers in town.

"This is the first time in any political conference that there is a local issue that generates such strong feelings.

"I expect thousands of people and the invitation is extended to everyone in the city."

Albion chairman Dick Knight will speak alongside Labour's Lord Bassam and Hove MP Ivor Caplin at a party fringe meeting.

He said: "We will present our case at the Labour conference in a humorous and witty but extremely powerful way. The method of protest is a good one at demonstrating how important this issue is, both locally and from a national perspective."

Lord Bassam has supported plans for a community stadium for more than a decade.

The Labour peer promised to join the lobby of his own party, saying: "I will be adding my voice."

A date has still not been set for the final part of the planning inquiry, according to the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister.

The club has so far spent £3 million on plans for a 22,374-seat stadium proposed for a plot of city council land near Falmer village.

Tuesday August 24, 2004