Giant cake protest to avoid the pits

A protest group in Germany has built a giant cake as part of a campaign to stop the construction of an industrial sand quarry.

The 280 kg, 1.5 metre-long marble cake was chosen for its name: Sandkuchen or 'sand cake' in German, said the citizens' initiative Pro Nature, which is campaigning against the sand pits planned near the eastern city of Zwickau.

Containing more than 1,000 eggs, 50 kg of sugar and margarine, 35 kg of chocolate and 100 kg of flour, the cake took three people and 26 hours to make.

"We decided to make a large marble cake because protests against the planned sand pits had quietened down," said Sylvia Graeser, a member of the protest group, Monday. She said the cake was due to be entered into the Guinness World Records.

Locals of Zwickau-Schneppendorf, where the pit is planned, have been eating their cake since the weekend, Graeser said.

- Reuters