Fundamentalist Christians today pledged to continue their fire and brimstone preaching to passers-by in Parliament Street in York after a case against one of them was dropped following a landmark trial at the High Court.

Jennifer Bate

Jennifer Bate and her colleagues from the Faith Ministries sect are well-known to York residents and tourists for their confrontational style of spreading the word, which has led to them being arrested dozens of times across Yorkshire.

Mrs Bate, who is 51 and claims to have been arrested 47 times, was charged with disorderly conduct in March after preaching on the steps of Wakefield Cathedral.

She was due to be tried by local magistrates on Monday, but the Crown Prosecution Service dropped the charges after a separate ruling at the High Court involving her daughter, Alison Redmond-Bate, who was arrested while preaching in 1997.

Ms Redmond-Bate took her appeal to the High Court, where Lord Justice Sedley said there was no lawful basis for her arrest.

"Free speech includes not only the irritating, but the contentious, the eccentric, the heretical, the unwelcome and the provocative, provided it does not intend to provoke violence," said the judge.

Mrs Bate's son Sam, who lives with her in Leeds, said the repeated arrests had failed to break her spirit.

"Why worry about being pinched when you are used to being punched?"

He said July's High Court decision vindicated the group and its "in-your-face" preaching methods, in which all members of the church take part.

"Anyone who arrests people when there is supposed to be freedom of speech is a fool," he said.

Pastor Phil Dacre, leader of the Leeds-based Faith Ministries who believe England will be destroyed, speak in tongues and claim to perform miracles at services, said they were used to being "persecuted".

"But we will be on the streets for years to come," he said.

Acting Chief Insp Fred Martindale said York police supported the principle of free speech, but added: "If the peace and good order are undermined we will take action."

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