ACTIVISTS took to the streets yesterday in protest over the inauguration of Donald Trump as President of the United States.

Protestors dropped banners over bridges as part of the #BridgesNotWalls movement against Mr Trump's election pledge to build a wall between the US and Mexico.

In Brighton, two separate banners were dropped, at the bridge over Trafalgar Street and at Brighton Greenway over New England Road, during the morning.

Emma Webb from Lesbians and Gays Support the Migrants Brighton said: “After the staggering rise in racism and Islamophobia that we’ve seen here in the wake of the Brexit campaign, it’s no wonder people are frightened about the effect Trump’s rhetoric will have in the US.

"This banner drop is an act of solidarity and a call to action - a call for us all to build bridges between people and communities and take a stand against those who wish to divide us.”

Brighton Pavilion MP Caroline Lucas also attended the banner drop.

She said: “I am truly worried about the effects of Trumpism, but I am hopeful that the politics of hate will be overcome. "That’s why I joined one of the more than one hundred and fifty Bridges Not Walls actions taking place across the world.

"We reject the idea that the future of our world is owned by a gold-plated billionaire.”

Additional banner drops were held in Shoreham, Hastings and Hassocks.

The #BridgesNotWalls movement initiative began as the brainchild of Hastings ice cream man and homeless shelter worker Will Stevens in the aftermath of the shock US election result. But the idea has rapidly gained momentum and is now being backed by a growing number of existing activist groups and larger campaign organisations who share anxiety about recent political events both in the UK and US.

Over 150 banner drops took place as people across the world, with 100 in the UK alone.

Yesterday Donald Trump was sworn in as 45th US president, taking the mantle from Barack Obama, in Washington DC.

See guest column p11.