Bradford city centre was transformed into a scene resembling a horror movie as more than a hundred “zombies” descended on Centenary Square as part of a protest against nuclear weapons.

Protesters dressed as the walking dead as a tongue-in-cheek way of highlighting the potential catastrophe a nuclear war could bring to Bradford.

Protester Joel White, 19, of Undercliffe, Bradford, said the weekend protest was held in the city due to its proximity with the US missile defence base at Menwith Hill.

Mr White said: “We think it’s really important right now with the current debate going on about nuclear weapons that young people show they are still passionate about it.

“This is a tactic of raising awareness that Trident is coming up to be renewed and there also going to be a conference on the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty next year.

“So we just want to make sure that it gets talked about and it also proves there are still young people who don’t want to inherit a nuclear legacy.”

Mr White said Bradford’s proximity to Menwith Hill makes the city a target if nuclear arms were to be used “because Menwith Hill is the biggest American spy base in the world.” He added: “We were born in the cold war generation and we don’t want to see it happen again.”

The zombies attracted curious looks as they marched through the city centre on Saturday.

The protesters dressed as zombies to show the “inhuman” nature of nuclear weapons.

Mr White said: “We are passionate about exposing the inhuman, braindead nature of nuclear weapons and missile defence.

“These beasts are effectively ‘undead’ in themselves, surviving the end of the cold war due to war-fixated politicians.

“So we personify these dastardly devices, along with their ardent followers, hopefully raising a smile while challenging those in power.”

A simultaneous smaller protest also took place in Menwith Hill.