MORE than 100 campaigners braved heavy downpours as they marched through York to appeal against the jail sentence of student protester Frank Fernie.

Family, friends and supporters took part in a Free Frank Fernie march through the city centre on Saturday.

Joe Sellers, campaign manager for the Free Frank Fernie group, who has known the former York College and Archbishop Holgate’s CE pupil since they were children, was among five speakers at the event.

Addressing the crowd, he said: “Today is a little bit odd for me. If I had been told six months ago, that today, I would be marching for the freedom of one of my best friends, not only would I have laughed at the thought of being involved in anything remotely political, I would also have suspected least for that friend to be Frank Fernie.

“Having known Frank for a large part of my life, I can say better than most that I can think of nobody less deserving of such a crazily excessive sentence.

“Frank is a pure, kind-hearted person who was recently described to me by a former work colleague as ‘a natural born carer’. To remove Frank from society was to put it at a loss. It is a mockery of the system. It is a mockery of my best friend. It is clear for everyone to see that what has happened here is wrong on so many levels. Let’s get Frank free.”

Speaking afterwards Joe said: “I have never done anything like this so I was nervous, but I just cannot sit back and let something like this happen.

“I was worried that with the weather not many people would come, but we had about 115 people turn up for the march and lots of people stopped to listen to the speeches and ask questions which was fantastic.”

Other speakers included Frank’s friend Haydn Tomlinson, Hannah Dee, a representative of the Defend The Right To Protest group, John Westmorland, a tutor at York College where Frank studied, and Frank’s mother, Dianne.

Dianne said she had been touched by the level of support she had received.

“I have been amazed at the amount of people who are willing to commit to giving Frank support,” she said. “There were people of all ages who attended, from his friends to people from London, his past teachers, tutors from his college, past employers – it is incredible really.”

Frank, of Filey Terrace, Clifton, was jailed for throwing two long sticks at police during violence linked to the mass TUC anti-Government spending cuts demonstration in London in March.

For more details on the campaign, visit freefrankfernie.info