DOZENS of people gathered in Darlington to join the annual Walk for Peace in the town.

Now in its fifth year, the walk is intended to promote peace and solidarity among residents, regardless of faith, politics or sexuality.

It was first held in 2015 as a one-off in response to a specific hate crime in Darlington, but organiser Matthew Snedker says it has continued because 'hate still exists'.

Addressing a gathering of around 80 people at the Friends Meeting House on Skinnergate, Mr Snedker said he hoped the walk would 'bring peace to life', adding: "There is too much hatred, there is too much binary 'this is right, this is wrong', the peace in the world needs reinvigorating."

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Councillor Gerald Lee, who runs the Celebrating Communities group, also addressed the crowd.

He said: "We are in absolute turmoil internationally and whilst none of us here can do anything outside the boundary of Darlington, what we can do is walk together to make sure that peace between one another is maintained in Darlington - that is as far as we can do."

Cllr Lee added that the shared values of family and friendship cross religious and political boundaries and should be celebrated.

He added: "The idea is that when people do meet and mix and walk together, prejudice and fear are reduced.

"We are confident we know that happens."

The walk took a route around Darlington, taking in places of worship including St Augustine's Church, the Sikh Gurudwara and the Buddhist centre.

Mr Snedker said: "It is even more important now than it has ever been as worryingly the number of hate crimes repeatedly continues to rise and shows no signs of slowing down.

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"It is so important that the different communities of Darlington will support each other and demonstrate that support in such a public way.

"It is completely apolitical and that is what peace should be.

"If anything is to be learnt from this event, it is that you get far more done when you walk together instead of trying to prove that your way is the right way."

Mr Snedker said that the walk receives messages of support from across communities including LGBT people whom he says have told him they sometimes feel unsafe in Darlington, particularly when on a night out.

He said: "There definitely is still a feeling amongst minority groups, it is a feeling of fear, that they are under threat.

"If you don't belong to a minority group it is easy to not see it."