50 oil tankers stranded as climate change protesters close road
leading the UK's biggest oil refinery
Hundreds of demonstrators blockaded the road to an oil refinery and claimed they stopped 375,000 gallons of fuel from leaving the depot.
The protesters, who barricaded the road leading to the Coryton Oil Refinery near Stanford-le-Hope, Essex, said they prevented more than 50 oil tankers getting to and from the site, which they accuse of exacerbating climate change.
Police were forced to close the road after 12 female protesters handcuffed themselves to vehicles parked to deliberately block the way for fuel tankers.
Blockade: Around 500 protesters from a variety of environmental groups gathered at the Coryton oil refinery in Essex yesterday closing the road leading to it
Fancy dress: Many of the protesters wore elaborate fancy dress costumes depicting images of death as they joined the peaceful rally at the site near Stanford-le-Hope, Essex
Hundreds more demonstrators travelled from London to join the Crude Awakening protest and set up another blockade close to the entrance of the Shell Haven Oils Site on the same road.
A number of them clambered up man-made wooden tripods and many wore white boiler suits.
There were minor scuffles between officers and activists and Essex police described it as 'a peaceful protest'. A spokesman said: 'There have been no incidents during the protest and no arrests have been made.'
The demonstration came as protesters took to streets around France as unions there announced that all 12 fuel producing refineries in the country are on strike and many depots were blocked by protesters.
Fuel levels are critical as workers took to the streets as part of a nationwide protest against President Nicolas Sarkozy's plan to raise the retirement age to 62
Yesterday's demonstration in Essex, which was supported by a number of action groups including Camp for Climate Action and Plane Stupid, is part of a global week of action against the fossil fuel industry.
Road closed: Local police were forced to close the road leading the refinery after 12 female protesters handcuffed themselves to vehicles parked to deliberately block the way for fuel tankers
Activist Julie Allen said: 'We've come here to the source of the problem, to put our bodies in the way of the relentless flow of oil to say "no more".
'If we're to have a hope of tackling climate change we need to find a way to get over oil. It won't happen overnight, but we can, and must move beyond oil.'
Another demonstrator, Terri Orchard, said: 'We don't have a hope of tackling climate change if we don't find a way to start moving beyond oil.
Getting noticed: The Crude Awakening protest set up another blockade close to the entrance of the Shell Haven Oils Site on the same road
Passionate: Activist Julie Allen said: 'We've come here to the source of the problem, to put our bodies in the way of the relentless flow of oil to say "no more"
'Oil companies are devastating local environments, trampling the rights of local communities, and pushing us over the edge to catastrophic climate change.
'We are here at the source of the problem, at the UK's busiest oil refinery, to stop the flow of oil to London.
'We're here to put a spanner in the works of the relentless flow of oil and to say no more. This place, this whole industry, must become a thing of the past.'
The protesters remained on the road for more than seven hours before they decided to leave, a spokeswoman for Crude Awakening said.
Getting in the way: There were minor scuffles between officers and activists and Essex police described it as 'a peaceful protest'
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