City dad in Stonehenge protest

4:12pm Thursday 22nd February 2007

A SOUTHAMPTON dad was one of three men dressed as the cartoon character Fred Flintstone who scaled Britain's most famous stone age monument today to protest over equal rights for fathers.

The protestors, from campaign group Fathers4Justice, clambered up on top of Stonehenge as the group began what they were promising would be a new wave of public protests centred around parental rights.

The men claimed their action had been sparked by comments from Conservative leader David Cameron that the current crisis in Britain's youth culture, which has led to a strong of gang-land shootings in recent weeks, was down to absent fathers.

Fathers4Justice founder Matt O'Connor, from Winchester, said Mr Cameron's views failed to take into account government legislation that did not always make it easy for fathers to see their children.

He added: "Our protests are about raising the profile of our campaign in a peaceful but public way."

The three Fred Flintstones were Southampton father David White, 29, Richard West, 40, of Ottery St Mary in Devon and Jolly Stanesby, 36, from Ivybridge, Devon, all of whom sported wigs and inflatable caveman clubs.