Protesters travelled to Maidstone today and stood outside shops they believe are selling real fur.

Three women, who said they are all vegans and don't wear any clothes made from animal products, held posters and said they were there to raise awareness.

They moved the protest between the pavement outside clothing stores Zee & Co Ltd, Woods Designer Clothing and Lottie's Loft, all in the High Street.

Using coloured chalk they scrawled messages on the ground such as "fur is murder".

Protester Hannah Youd, a 21-year-old bartender from Sittingbourne, said: "We were shocked such a small town like Maidstone can sell fur. This protest was a last minute decision.

"Some of these shops look nice but they are ruining it by selling real fur. I wouldn't buy any item from a shop that sold fur.

"We're just here to raise awareness."

Fellow demonstrator Tracey Beer, 37, from Ashford, who works in retail, said real fur is sometimes sold in Britain labelled as fake fur meaning unsuspecting shoppers could end up supporting the fur trade without realising.

She said: "People don't realise they can buy real fur in this country. It's illegal to produce it here but it can be imported.

"Real fur can be mislabelled as fake fur. Sometimes the staff in the shops aren't even aware it's real."

The pair journeyed to the county town for the protest with Lina Miln, a 22-year-old from Tonbridge who has got a job at The Plant Cafe, a vegan eatery due to open this month in Camden Road, Tunbridge Wells.

The three claimed rabbit, raccoon dog and coyote fur is on sale in Maidstone.

It is sold in the form of hats, collars and trims on coats, they said.

Zee & Co assistant manager David Taiwo said the shop was selling one jacket by Canadian clothing company Canada Goose, which has a trim around the hood made of coyote fur.

He went over to chat to the women during their protest.

Miss Youd told him coyotes suffer for the fur trade as they are caught in traps and often "chew off their own legs" in a bid to get free.

Mr Taiwo said: "If the methods they're describing were used to make the fur trim on the jacket I wouldn't feel ok selling it. But I'm sure these are extreme cases they're talking about here. You can't apply these extreme cases to everything that irks you.

"It's not our policy to upset people and, like other stores in Maidstone, we don't sell products that are tested on animals.

"If they want to get their message across there are better ways to do it than standing outside a shop. Talk to the press, use social media. What they're doing is very old fashioned."

Lottie's Loft and Woods Designer Clothing did not wish to comment.