RIOT Police were called in to deal with protestors as developers moved in to destroy the habitat of the "Beast of Berriew."

The sausage loving Beast is said to be seen often at Berriew County Primary School and pupils there were horrified to find that diggers had turned up at the school to re-develop the playground.

An eye witness said that around 80 children had to be warned by police about the protest.

The County Times has tried to contact the Beast for a comment about losing the habitat, but it's believed that he or she has now gone in to hiding.

The (mock) protest, is the latest part of a project which sees pupils aged seven to 11 at the school collaborate with artists as part of the Wales Art Council's Creative Schools Scheme for two years.

Teacher Lindsay Clarke who is coordinating the project at the school explained: "The scheme aims to promote new ways of working in schools, providing the opportunity to develop an innovative and tailor made programme of learning, designed to improve the quality of teaching and learning.

"It's about delivering the curriculum with a slightly different slant.

Mrs Clarke went on to explain that the school was now working with digital artist Beth Breeden from the Lake Vyrnwy area, after the pupils held an interview process with artists which included asking them the question: What colour pants are you wearing today and what does it say about you?

Mrs Clarke added: "The question was designed to find out if the artists had a sense of humour."

On the Beast of Berriew, she explained: "The children developed a plan to create a film about the Beast of Berriew, a mythical beast who was thought to be extinct, but has been recently seen in the village.

"Our pupils interviewed people at The Talbot pub and the cafe and found that the Beast had stolen some sausages from Alan the Butcher.

"They found out that the beast's natural habitat was the school playground after a footprint was found.

"But descriptions of the beast are a bit vague.

"It's said that the beast could resemble a fish or has feathers."

"When the diggers turned up, they organised a protest, which had to be policed!"

"Beth helped design and make the protest t-shirts."

According to Mrs Clarke, the next step will be to hold a Oscar style presentation night when we celebrate the camera crew, video editing, protest organisers and also those who interviewed villagers about the beast.

Mrs Clarke added: "The whole project is very fluid, and the children make the decisions on how it develops.

"It's adding value to their education and creating a fabulous buzz at the school."