RIGHT-WING extremists linked to loyalist paramilitaries have targeted a Co Londonderry town in a major recruitment drive, it was claimed last night.

Posters and leaflets distributed in Coleraine call for all IRA "scum" to be hanged and include a telephone number for anyone wanting to join.

The White National Party campaign provoked outrage from the SDLP's John Dallat, a former mayor of Coleraine.

He said: "This is a sinister attempt by loyalist elements to repair their image and broaden their appeal among racists and sectarian bigots.

"They're quite clearly modelling themselves on the Ku Klux Klan and are prepared to go to any lengths to emulate their masters in the British National Party."

The WNP has called a day of action in Coleraine on Saturday.

Amid fears that minorities and Catholics in the town may be attacked, Mr Dallat urged the police to crack down on the organisation.

He said: "Coleraine is privileged to have in its midst ethnic minority communities made up of people from different parts of the world.

"We depend on nurses and key workers in our hospitals from as far away as the Philippines and eastern Europe.

"They make a very positive contribution to our society which is a lot more than can be said for the wasters involved in this campaign of hate.

"The police really have to clamp down hard and protect these people from this potential danger."