Christian protesters, including a Bradford man, who glued their hands and staged a sit-in outside one of the biggest arms fairs in the world have gone on trial accused of trespass.

Police officers used chemicals to release the hands of demonstrators blocking the way to an entrance of the Defence Security Equipment International arms fair at London's ExCel Centre last year, Stratford Magistrates’ Court in east London heard.

One of the group, writer Symon Hill, was seen reciting Psalm 23, the Lord is My Shepherd, on video footage played to the court as he was led away by police.

Afolake Jaja, prosecuting, said police had been called to a footbridge on September 10 where they were met by a group sitting cross legged with their arms interlocked. A warning was issued by a chief inspector from the Ministry of Defence police for the protesters to leave.

“Some of the members of the group left after the warning,” she said. “However, the five defendants who are facing trial remained after the warning. Officers were thereby instructed to arrest the members of the group who remained after the warning.

"It appeared that certain members of the group had super-glued their hands together and police applied various liquids in order to free their hands up."

James Clayton, 33, of Cecil Avenue, Little Horton, Bradford, Hill, 36, of Thayer Street, central London, Chloe Skinner, 26, of Onslow Road, Sheffield, Christopher Wood, 27, of Langleys Road, Birmingham and Daniel Woodhouse, 26, of Recreation Street, Long Eaton, Nottingham, all deny aggravated trespass.

The trial continues