Protesters target Finning stand at Hillhead show

Finning's stand at Hillhead was targeted by campaigners protesting about what they say is Caterpillar's trade with the Israeli army.

The protesters claim Cat dozers have been used to destroy 3,000 Palestinian houses in occupied territories.

On the middle day of the exhibition, four protesters climbed on to the raised buckets of two Cat wheel loaders to hang out a banner emblazoned with the word 'Caterkillar'. The protesters' leaflets claim that an American peace activist was killed by a Cat D9 while trying to prevent the demolition of civilian homes in the Gaza strip.

The protesters, equipped with hi-visabilty jackets and hard hats, stayed on the machines for two hours asking plant buyers to take their business elsewhere before three of them climbed down and the fourth used an access platform provided by the organisers.

Caterpillar said it has neither the right nor the means to police the use of Caterpillar equipment around the world.

Jack Berridge, exhibition director for Hillhead, said: "We viewed it as a safety issue and our objective was getting these four people down from the machines without causing themselves or anybody else any harm."