Up to 200 zombies invaded a city centre and descended en masse on council offices.
To the bemusement of Saturday shoppers in Leicester, Britain's 10th largest city, the groaning, bloodstained mob made their way through the city.
Thankfully, however, they were not real zombies. The "zombies" "attacked" Leicester City Council's offices to make a political point after the council was forced to admit it was unprepared for invasion by the living dead.
It follows a mischievous request, made under the Freedom of Information Act, which was sent to the council last week, asking what preparations the city had made for a zombie invasion.
The 'concerned citizen' received a reply in which the council conceded it was ill-prepared, and staff confirmed it had been taken in good humour.
As the story spread across Twitter and other social networking sites, it prompted James Dixon to organise a zombie march on Facebook.
After the invasion, in time-honoured British tradition, the zombies all went off to the pub.
Zombies invade city centre for 'mass shamble' after council admits it was 'unprepared' for an attack of the undead
By Daily Mail Reporter
20th June 2011
Daily Mail
'Zombies' descended on a city centre after its council was forced to admit it was unprepared for invasion by the living dead.
Up to 200 people in make-up and torn clothing staged a 'mass shamble' for half a mile through the streets of Leicester, to the bemusement of Saturday shoppers.
The groaning mob pressed their blood-stained faces against the windows of Leicester City Council's offices to make their political point - their city has no plan to counter such an event.
We won't take this lying down: Residents in Leicester, concerned that their city is ill-prepared for a zombie attack, made their point with a mass shamble through the streets
Mass shamble: The slow-moving mob shuffled for around half a mile from the city clock to the council offices
It follows a mischievous request, made under the Freedom of Information Act, which was sent to the council last week, asking what preparations the city had made for a zombie invasion.
It read: 'Can you please let us know what provisions you have in place in the event of a zombie invasion?
'Having watched several films it is clear that preparation for such an event is poor and one that councils throughout the kingdom must prepare for.
'Please provide any information you may have.'
The 'concerned citizen' received a reply in which the council conceded it was ill-prepared, and staff confirmed it had been taken in good humour.
Lynn Wyeth, the council's head of information governance, said: 'We've had a few wacky ones before but this one did make us laugh.
Concerned citizens: The mass shamble followed the admission by Leicester City Council that it was unprepared for invasion by the undead, in response to an FOI request
'To you it might seem frivolous and a waste of time, but to different people it actually means something.
'Everybody has their own interests and their own reasons for asking these questions.'
As the story spread across Twitter and other social networking sites, it prompted James Dixon to organise a zombie march on Facebook.
He said it started as a 'small gathering for friends' but eventually attracted more widespread interest after going viral with hundreds gathered for the march.
He said: 'We went for a shamble. We shambled from the clock to the city council offices - about half a mile through the city centre.
'There were just a couple of security guards at the building.
'We didn't try to get inside - just pressed ourselves up against the glass like zombies do.
'We're off to the pub now. It's been a really good day.'
There's no need to worry though. So far instances of zombie-ism are restricted to films such as Day Of the Dead, Shaun of the Dead and Night of the Living Dead.
Leicester 'invaded' by zombie hordes for flashmob 'mass shamble' through city centre | Mail Online
To the bemusement of Saturday shoppers in Leicester, Britain's 10th largest city, the groaning, bloodstained mob made their way through the city.
Thankfully, however, they were not real zombies. The "zombies" "attacked" Leicester City Council's offices to make a political point after the council was forced to admit it was unprepared for invasion by the living dead.
It follows a mischievous request, made under the Freedom of Information Act, which was sent to the council last week, asking what preparations the city had made for a zombie invasion.
The 'concerned citizen' received a reply in which the council conceded it was ill-prepared, and staff confirmed it had been taken in good humour.
As the story spread across Twitter and other social networking sites, it prompted James Dixon to organise a zombie march on Facebook.
After the invasion, in time-honoured British tradition, the zombies all went off to the pub.
Zombies invade city centre for 'mass shamble' after council admits it was 'unprepared' for an attack of the undead
By Daily Mail Reporter
20th June 2011
Daily Mail
'Zombies' descended on a city centre after its council was forced to admit it was unprepared for invasion by the living dead.
Up to 200 people in make-up and torn clothing staged a 'mass shamble' for half a mile through the streets of Leicester, to the bemusement of Saturday shoppers.
The groaning mob pressed their blood-stained faces against the windows of Leicester City Council's offices to make their political point - their city has no plan to counter such an event.
We won't take this lying down: Residents in Leicester, concerned that their city is ill-prepared for a zombie attack, made their point with a mass shamble through the streets
Mass shamble: The slow-moving mob shuffled for around half a mile from the city clock to the council offices
It follows a mischievous request, made under the Freedom of Information Act, which was sent to the council last week, asking what preparations the city had made for a zombie invasion.
It read: 'Can you please let us know what provisions you have in place in the event of a zombie invasion?
'Having watched several films it is clear that preparation for such an event is poor and one that councils throughout the kingdom must prepare for.
'Please provide any information you may have.'
The 'concerned citizen' received a reply in which the council conceded it was ill-prepared, and staff confirmed it had been taken in good humour.
Lynn Wyeth, the council's head of information governance, said: 'We've had a few wacky ones before but this one did make us laugh.
Concerned citizens: The mass shamble followed the admission by Leicester City Council that it was unprepared for invasion by the undead, in response to an FOI request
'To you it might seem frivolous and a waste of time, but to different people it actually means something.
'Everybody has their own interests and their own reasons for asking these questions.'
As the story spread across Twitter and other social networking sites, it prompted James Dixon to organise a zombie march on Facebook.
He said it started as a 'small gathering for friends' but eventually attracted more widespread interest after going viral with hundreds gathered for the march.
He said: 'We went for a shamble. We shambled from the clock to the city council offices - about half a mile through the city centre.
'There were just a couple of security guards at the building.
'We didn't try to get inside - just pressed ourselves up against the glass like zombies do.
'We're off to the pub now. It's been a really good day.'
There's no need to worry though. So far instances of zombie-ism are restricted to films such as Day Of the Dead, Shaun of the Dead and Night of the Living Dead.
Leicester 'invaded' by zombie hordes for flashmob 'mass shamble' through city centre | Mail Online
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