More than 400,000 people marched on central London yesterday to highlight the needs of rural communities.

In one of the biggest peacetime protests ever seen in the capital, the Liberty and Livelihood marches sent a strong message to the government- start listening to the demands of the countryside.

Protesters held up banners and blew hunting horns and whistles as the made their way along the route of the two separate marches, after police asked organizers to split the protest in half because of fears for crowd safety.

The march was organized by the Countryside Alliance, an organization claiming to represents the "interests of rural people, including all field sports, sensible wildlife management, and wider countryside concerns such as jobs, landscapes and freedoms."

"I love my country, but fear my government", "Hunting first, what is next?" some of the banners held up by marchers said, reflecting the diverse interests of the marchers.

But the government said the pro-hunting lobby was hi-jacking the real concerns of country people, such as unemployment and infrastructure, to push its own agenda.

Police said it took hours for some marchers to move along the route, because of the congestion from the sheer size of the crowd.

"We would like to thank everybody who was demonstrating for their patience and co-operation, " said Commander Jo Kaye, in charge of the policing operation.

" Despite the very large number of people on the streets of Central London there have been no incidents of note."