The mayor of a small Spanish town who admitted taking part in Robin Hood-style looting of supermarkets today joined a protest march calling for more government aid for the unemployed.

Earlier this week the children’s charity Barnardos announced that, because of funding difficulties, it had decided to withdraw its services for a week and put its staff on unpaid leave.

Spanish police have arrested seven left-wing union activists for their alleged role in a “Robin Hood”-style looting of a supermarket made to highlight the plight of people suffering through the country’s recession.