London, Feb 20: British police face a bill of some 500,000 pounds after a court ruled today they had acted unlawfully in stopping protesters from attending a demonstration against the Iraq war at an airbase being used by US Warplanes. The court said Gloucestershire police had breached the human rights of 120 anti-war protesters when they detained the coach on which they were travelling last year. The force was ordered to pay legal fees estimated at 100,000 pounds, as well as compensation of around 3,000 pounds each to the demonstrators. The ruling is an embarrassment for British police coming just two weeks after London's metropolitan force agreed to pay damages of 80,000 pounds to anti-monarchy protesters wrongfully arrested during Queen Elizabeth's golden jubilee celebrations. It also follows legal action last September by human rights campaigners after officers invoked anti-terror laws against demonstrators at Europe's biggest arms fair, which was being staged in London. Andrew Burgin, a spokesman for stop the war coalition, whose members were among those detained in Gloucestershire, said justice had been served. ''This is a fantastic victory for freedom of speech and freedom of protest, particularly the right to protest against an illegal war,'' Burgin said. The protesters were detained by police 16 km from a demonstration last year at Fairford air force base in South-West England which US bombers were using as a staging point during the war. Their coach was held for two and half hours before being turned away. Ruling in favour of the protesters today, Lord Justice May at the High Court in London said the detention had gone ''far beyond anything which could conceivably constitute transitory detention.'' The length of time the demonstrators were held on the coach had been wholly disproportionate to any breach of the peace, he added. Jane Laporte, the protester who spearheaded the legal action, welcomed the verdict but said the group were considering launching an appeal after the judge ruled that their freedom of expression and the freedom to assemble had not been breached. Gloucestershire police, who claimed they acted on intelligence and were justified in turning the coaches back, were given permission to appeal. Bureau Report