Topless women will be in Preston city centre today to rustle up entrants for a naked run in Spain next month.

Three women plan to hover outside the city's town hall from 12.30pm wearing little more than plastic horns and tiny red scarves.

They will be accompanied by a pantomime-style bull' and will be running around getting people to sign up for a naked stomp through Pamplona, in northern Spain, on July 5, to promote a humane alternative to the bloodthirsty Spanish bull runs and fights.

But police in Preston said they have not been informed and are planning to send along senior officers to discuss the nude recruitment drive with organisers.

A spokesman said: "We will meet with the organisers and advise them accordingly."

The campaigners could face being pulled up for public indecency if they fail to cover up following a request from police.

The action in Preston is part of a 14-city recruitment drive by the European leg of the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) group to enlist participants for the sixth annual Running of the Nudes, PETA Europe's humane alternative to the traditional Spanish Running of the Bulls and the deadly bullfights that follow.

Last year, nearly 1,000 runners made international news with their compassionate stand against Pamplona's famous spectacle which, according to PETA Europe charity chiefs, includes terrorising the animals with electric prods and sharp sticks in order to force them to stampede.

They claim the bulls often suffer serious injuries when they slip and fall on the cobbled streets, and are frequently debilitated with tranquillisers, laxatives or beatings before they are slaughtered during bullfights, which take place every day of the week-long festival.

"Tormenting and butchering animals is an ugly old tradition," said PETA Europe's Lauren Bowey. "We're asking Brits to join the Running of the Nudes to help draw attention to the fact that bullfights must end."

From Preston, the team will be making their way to Blackpool for a recruitment drive at 3pm.

Councillor Ken Hudson, leader of the Preston City Council, said: "Preston City Council does not support bullfighting, but the council does not condone this type of protest."