ORGANISERS of a protest march against paedophiles in Dorset are calling on the community to join together to make their voices heard as one.

A peaceful protest will be held in Weymouth after it was revealed child rapist David Payne had been allowed to move to the resort.

The 64-year-old left the town last week amid fears for his safety after the Echo tracked him down to a flat in Great George Street.

There are more than 460 sex offenders living in Dorset and there are now calls to rid the area of all paedophiles.

More than 550 people have signed an online petition set up on social networking site Facebook.

The Facebook group has also attracted more than 5,000 people, including 29-year-old Daniel Riggs, who is organising the march on Saturday.

This has been changed from the previously advertised date so more people can attend.

Mr Riggs, of Portland, said: “I thought it would be an excellent opportunity to rally people together and let the voice of Weymouth be heard.

“With the news David Payne had been moved into the area it is as good a time as any to sound our voices in unity and come together as a community to say we don’t want this kind of thing in Weymouth.

“I’m not sure where the protest could lead, but it will make people more aware.”

The protest march starts at the Jubilee Clock. It will go via St Alban Street, St Thomas Street and Great George Street. Protestors are encouraged to bring banners and posters.

Meanwhile, parents have welcomed proposals to widen the Sarah’s Law sex offender alert scheme.

The Government has signalled that the pilot programme, which allows parents to check if someone with access to their children has a history of child sex offences, is to be rolled out.

Weymouth mum Michelle Ross, who helped set up the Facebook page, said: “It’s a start but ideally there would be a scheme whereby people could ask police if there are any convicted paedophiles living in their area.”

Mrs Ross disagreed Sarah’s Law would lead to vigilante attacks, as some have feared.

She added: “We must do everything in our power to protect children and we need the tools to do that.”

Her sister Stacey Broughton said: “Giving information out about paedophiles may lead to trouble, but paedophiles have to live with the consequences of what they’ve done.”

Dorchester grandmother Denise Kean said: “Paedophiles don’t change as far as I’m concerned. We need to know where they are.”