Protesters gather outside Sheffield Town Hall as MPs prepare for Brexit deal vote

Campaigners formed a human chain around the city centre building and called for a People's Vote to give the public the final say on the Brexit deal with the option to still remain in the European Union.

MPs will vote on Prime Minister Theresa May's EU Withdrawal Deal from 7pm tonight (Tuesday) and those outside the Sheffield Town Hall called on them to vote it down.

Neill Schofield, chairman of Sheffield for Europe, said: 'What's prompted everything tonight is the importance of the vote. It is an important day for the future of our country and we wanted to send a message that we want Sheffield's MPs to vote down Theresa May's deal and then support a People's Vote.

'It's the only way we can progress. I think we all now know more, I understand more and actually Theresa May's deal only settles a minute proportion of the issues that have got to be addressed.

'People understandably feel they have had enough of Brexit but if the deal goes through, we will be talking about it for years.'

Mr Schofield said the group would carry on campaigning '˜whatever happens' in tonight's vote.

The protests threatened to turn ugly when a man walked past and shouted at the campaigners and then an elderly woman had an angry exchange of words with a number of those in the human chain, before making a Nazi salute.

Rebecca Atkinson, who was also part of the protest, said she got involved in politics following the results of the EU referendum in June 2016.

She said: 'I am a massive pro-European so the day after the referendum vote I woke up, looked at my kids and thought I had to something so I joined the Liberal Democrats.

'I realised that rather than just posting on social media I had to get out and do something for the sake of my kids because it's their lives it's going to affect.'