Motorway chicken crash inspires 'Justice for Hens' group
Two women who rescued thousands of chickens from a motorway lorry accident have started a campaign urging people to become vegetarian.
About 1,500 chickens were killed when the lorry crashed on the M62 earlier this month.
Louise Fields and Emma Billington, from the nearby Dogs 4 Rescue, helped rescue some 3,000 surviving birds - and were still finding hens this week.
The pair have now started the "Justice for Hens" campaign.
The Facebook group aims "to bring about change in the name of the hen victims of the M62 crash."
More than 1,600 people have also signed a petition started by the friends calling for a debate in Parliament about the conditions chickens are kept in.
Ms Fields, of Eccles, Greater Manchester, and her business partner rounded up thousands of the birds after they escaped up an embankment on to land used for her dogs rescue centre.
The 28-year-old said: "We just want to help get the word out there.
"When we found the birds, some had hardly any feathers on; some were without beaks. They're kept in cramped cages.
"It really clarified things for us, and there needs to be a debate about the conditions these birds are kept in."
She added: "We don't want to tell people how to live their lives, but just to show them the facts and let them make up their minds."
A section of the M62 at Birchwood and the Eccles Interchange was temporarily closed following the accident on 14 May, when the lorry crashed into a safety barrier.
The pair have helped re-home thousands of the birds with the help of local animal charities.