FREEDOM of speech now has an official home in Lincoln's High Street.

After debating the best place for the city's Speakers Corner, organisers have settled on a spot near Cornhill.

And, in the finest tradition of speakers' corners, everyone will be able to have their say on any topic.

Following the soapbox hustings in the run-up to the General Election, the Speakers' Corner Trust is hoping the site, which now has its own sign, will become a place where people exercise their right to free speech.

Richard Dale, spokesman for the Trust's Lincoln committee, said: "It was a unanimous decision to have it at Cornhill. We gave it a street sign because we want it to be part of the fabric of the city.

"We are promoting the idea that free speech is a really important. I think we tend to forget that it is something we have a right to."

The chosen site is very near to the spot of a suffragette demonstration that took place nearly a century ago.

Mr Dale said: "After we decided on the site, a picture of the suffragettes came to light and it seemed to validate the choice even more. As long as people are within the law then anything goes, people don't need to book in or queue.

"It is quite wide, so a crowd can gather without causing problems."

The University Of Lincoln's Take Part programme has been involved in the creation of the corner. Leader Zoraida Mendiwelso-Bendek said: "We have worked hard and we are pleased with the way the community have been engaged and seem happy."

Retired teacher Amanda Cross, 72, of Lincoln said: "I think a lot of people will say inappropriate things that just stir up hatred and use the excuse of Speaker's Corner to get away with it."

IT consultant Christopher James, 28, did not agree the corner would cause trouble. He said: "Everyone is so afraid to say what they think for fear of offending or because they are a minority group. This will remind people that we have the right to speak."