The Big Issue in the North magazine has been forced to pull adverts from a drug company after a vendor was attacked in Liverpool by an animal rights activist.

The homeless man was selling copies of Big Issue in the North when he was approached by a woman animal rights activist.

She shouted abuse at him because the magazine carries adverts from drug development company Covance, which tests on animals. She then punched the vendor in the face.

The Covance adverts, which recruit volunteers for clinical trials, have been carried in the magazine for several years and pay the magazine £2, 500 a year.

Richard Brown, managing director of Big Issue in the North, said the adverts had to be dropped to guarantee the safety of vendors.

He said: "This is a horrific incident and one that we are not taking lightly.

"We will not put the safety of our vendors at risk and feel we have no option other than to stop running the Covance adverts in the magazine. Picking on vulnerable people to get what you want is a despicable way to act."