Falklands veterans protest in Hatfields over Stan Collymore tweet

The protest was sparked by a message posted on Twitter last month by former footballer Stan Collymore.

The tweet, which has since been deleted, said: "Falklands? Wasn't anyone's. We just thieved it, as we do. What glory, what triumph? A f***ing island with sheep."

The next day he tweeted that his comments had been taken out of context: "Not one mention of 1982, not one mention of our soldiers, navy or airmen, not one mention of Argentina. No mention of the 20th century!"

The Falklands Islands government has described the comments as "factually incorrect and hurtful".

The protest was held outside talkSPORT's studios in Hatfields because Mr Collymore's Twitter profile formerly carried the radio station's logo.

Brian Yardley of the Veterans' Association UK said that he wanted an apology from Mr Collymore.

During the protest 258 poppies were affixed to the fence of the football pitches opposite the talkSPORT studios to represent the British service personnel killed during the 1982 conflict with Argentina over the disputed islands in the South Atlantic.

Two police officers from the Cathedrals Ward Safer Neighbourhoods Team kept a watchful eye on the demonstration.