Animal rights protesters last night projected a giant message on the Angel of the North.

Members of the peaceful protest group Uncaged lit up the wings of the Angel in a campaign against animal testing by global pharmaceuticals company Procter and Gamble, which has a base in North Tyneside.

The message, which simply said "Procter and Gamble test on animals" was illuminated at around 7pm last night.

Yesterday, Uncaged's director of campaigns Dan Lyons said: "We just want to alert people to the fact that Procter and Gamble test on animals for the development of new cosmetics, toiletries and household products.

"Lots of people are against animal testing, but don't realise some of the things they buy have been tested on animals." He is calling on people to boycott the firm's products and said the Angel of the North was the first in a series of landmarks across the country which would be targeted in this way.

"We chose the Angel because of it's prominence, but also because its sculptor Antony Gormley said he wanted it to be a focus for people's hopes and fears."

A company spokeswomen said yesterday: "Proctor and Gamble is committed to improving lives with high quality products while safeguarding the health of our consumers.

"Sometimes, but only as a last resort, we must conduct research involving animals to ensure materials are safe and effective.

"We are passionate about continuing our progress in developing alternatives to research involving animals."