Climate change protest at Heathrow airport closes north runway

A group of climate change activists have gained access to the north runway at London's Heathrow Airport to launch a protest.

A spokesman for direct action group Plane Stupid said a dozen demonstrators cut through a fence and entered the runway at 3.30am.

He said the protesters were campaigning against airport expansion and would stay on the runway for as long as possible.

Posts on social media showed several activists chained together and being spoken to by police officers.

A spokesperson for Heathrow Airport told ITV News that the north runway is currently closed, but there is no major impact to flights yet:

The Metropolitan Police confirmed that some of the demonstrators had chained themselves together using a contraption described as a "tripod".

A Scotland Yard spokesperson said: "At approximately 3.45am officers were alerted to a number of protesters who had made their way airside at Heathrow Airport.

"A small number of these protesters are believed to have chained themselves to a 'tripod'.

"Officers are in attendance."

Earlier this month a long-awaited report recommended that a new runway should be built at Heathrow rather than Gatwick.