Hundreds in power station protest

Drax looms in the background as protesters set up food tents

Hundreds of environmental campaigners have gathered at Britain's biggest coal-fired power station to protest over carbon dioxide emissions.

Organisers of the Camp for Climate Action hope to attract up to 2,000 demonstrators to Drax Power Station in Selby, North Yorkshire.

Police have been drafted in from across Yorkshire in case there is any trouble.

The protesters, who are camping on land next to Barlow Common nature reserve, say they want to shut down the site.

They say it is the UK's largest emitter of CO2.

Although their camp is just outside the power station boundaries, a campaign spokeswoman said protesters may decide to enter the site on Thursday in a bid to force it to close.

Urgent issue

Anna Harrison said individuals would decide whether they were prepared to risk arrest by joining the "day of creative mass action", when demonstrators will converge on the site with the aim of forcing it to shut down.

She said: "I can't speak for everyone else but I do know that a lot of people feel so strongly that they are prepared to break the law.

"The issue of climate change is so urgent that lots of people are prepared to step out of line to make a stand."

The power station has secured an injunction prohibiting any trespassing on the site and restricting the use of a nearby footpath.

Drax said it wanted to ensure the protesters did not force the station to close or put their own safety at risk.

It had no objection to "peaceful and lawful demonstration" but did not want protesters exposed to the dangers and hazards "inherent to our highly complex industrial site".