Protesters rallied against the continuing production of nuclear bombs at the Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE) at Aldermaston yesterday.

Around 1,400 people mobilised for ‘The Bomb Stops Here’ demonstration organised by the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND), which marked 50 years of protests at the nuclear plant.

Banners with anti-nuclear and peace messages surrounded the perimeter fence before the crowds created a crescendo of noise and symbolically sealed the gates of the base with tape.

Long-time campaigner Joe Sturge, who lived in Reading for 26 years, had been involved in dozens of protests since the early 1960s at both the AWE and Greenham Common.

The 78-year-old Quaker, who now lives in Malvern, Worcestershire, said: “Nuclear weapons are an absolute evil which can exterminate populations and nothing can justify it.”

Penny Smith, 52, from Woodcote, who was there with her 11-year-old daughter Georgia, added: “We don’t agree with the Iraq war and we don’t agree with bombs.

“There are plenty of other ways of finding solutions to those problems.”

The CND is primarily opposed to the £100 billion replacement of the Trident nuclear missile programme and £5 billion to expand AWE to develop the next generation of warheads.

CND chair Kate Hudson said: “These are weapons of mass destruction which can kill hundreds of thousands of people with each bomb dropped. They represent death and destruction for humanity, not a way forward for peace and security.”

Giving further support was fashion designer Vivienne Westwood and Labour Party activist and CND vice-president Walter Wolfgang.

Mr Wolfgang, 84, hit the headlines after being evicted for shouting “nonsense” during Jack Straw’s speech on the Iraq war in September 2005.

“There is a general realisation now that there should not be Trident and the nuclear arms race should be ended,” he said.

Ms Westwood said: “The only thing we have got is public opinion and saying to people ‘yes’ you can do something even if it is something small. Get involved and you care about and start to improve the world we live in.”

Members of pressure group Japan Gensuikyo told the crowds 200,000 people died when America dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima in August 1945 and 250,000 survivors were still suffering.

Hiroshima survivor Yoshio Sato lost his parents and younger sister when he was 14 and has undergone operations for stomach cancer caused by fallout from the blast.

The 77-year-old said: “Atomic weapons must not survive. People have to be friendly with each other to make a peaceful world.”

Research in 2007 showed 29 per cent of the population felt Britain did not need nuclear weapons.

Officers from Thames Valley Police, Hampshire Constabulary and the Ministry of Defence Police reported no problems or arrests at the protest.

Superintendent Chris Shead, in charge of the police operation, said: “We would like to express our thanks to the demonstrators for their co-operation and consideration throughout the day.”