Lüetzerath: Greta Thunberg carried away by police during environmental protest in German village

ITV News' Ian Woods reports on environmental protests at the abandoned German village of Lützerath

Environmental campaigner Greta Thunberg was among the climate activists who were carried away during protests against the demolition of the coal village of Luetzerath, police said.

Activists were on Tuesday demonstrating at the open-cast coal mine of Garzweiler 2, around 5.6 miles from Luetzerath, where Ms Thunberg and other protestors sat near the edge of the mine.

"We are going to use force to bring you to the identity check, so please cooperate," a policeman said to the group, Reuters reports. "Greta Thunberg was part of a group of activists who rushed towards the ledge. However, she was then stopped and carried by us with this group out of the immediate danger area to establish their identity," a spokesperson for Aachen police told Reuters.

Luetzerath is a tiny hamlet which has become the frontline for Germany's climate debate and has been sealed off by authorities over recent days. Ms Thunberg joined protesters on Friday.

Environmentalists say bulldozing the village to expand the Garzweiler mine would result in huge amounts of greenhouse gas emissions. The government and energy company RWE argue the coal is needed to ensure Germany’s energy security. The regional and national governments, both of which include the environmentalist Green party, reached a deal with RWE last year allowing it to destroy the abandoned village in return for ending coal use by 2030, rather than 2038.

Demonstrators have occupied the village for months to protest against the plans.

Elsewhere, dozens of climate activists glued themselves to a main street in Germany’s western city of Cologne and to a state government building in Duesseldorf.

Near Rommerskirchen, a group of about 120 activists also occupied the coal railroad tracks to the Neurath power plant, according to police and RWE.

Those who refused to leave the tracks were carried away, according to reports.

It was one of the biggest news stories of our time - and it's still not over. So what did Boris Johnson know about Downing Street’s notorious parties? With fresh revelations from our Number 10 sources, in their own words, listen to the inside story...