Police hold 29 train protesters

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Amateur footage of the protest submitted to the BBC

Protesters who boarded and chained themselves to a coal train en route to one of Europe's biggest power stations have been taken into custody.

Twenty-nine climate campaigners halted a train taking fuel to Drax power station in North Yorkshire on Friday.

Police confirmed all the protesters had been removed from the train by midnight and arrests went "into double figures".

The train remains where it stopped, close to the village of Carlton, near Goole, ahead of an inspection.

Police said the majority of the campaigners, who were from London, the South East and Manchester, would be questioned during Saturday.

We are the largest, cleanest and most efficient coal-fired power station in the UK Drax statement

Those arrested face possible charges of conspiracy to obstruct trains, obstructing trains and railway trespass, police said.

The train, which was bound for the power complex near Selby, was stopped on Friday in Rawcliffe, on the border of North and East Yorkshire, apparently by a protester waving a red flag.

The protest was staged by members of Leave it in the Ground, a group which campaigns against open cast mining.

In a statement the group said they had used a "carefully rehearsed procedure to stop the train".

Members said signalmen were informed as soon as the action was under way in order to prevent any risk to other trains.

Protesters were taken away from the train on Friday night

Activist Ben Tennyson said: "We've stopped this train to prevent it delivering a thousand tonnes of coal to be burned at Drax and then released into the atmosphere.

"If we're serious about fighting climate change we have to leave this dirty fuel in the ground and invest in clean, renewable energy sources instead."

Up to 100 police officers, some in riot gear, boarded the wagons of the train in the operation to remove the activists.

Supt Terry Nicholson, of British Transport Police, said: "It's been a lengthy operation but our priority has been the safety of the public and our officers.

"We have been dealing with the protesters in a safe and professional manner and we have been arresting people for obstructing the railway."

'Cleanest' power station

A spokeswoman for Drax said the protest would not impact on operations and the station would operate "business as usual".

In a statement the firm said: "We are the largest, cleanest and most efficient coal-fired power station in the UK, which means that for every unit of electricity we generate we emit less CO2 than any other coal-fired power station in the UK.

"It is simply our size that makes us the single largest source of CO2 emissions.

"We are investing £180m in reducing our emissions of CO2, through improving our thermal efficiency and co-firing renewable biomass materials.

"Together those two initiatives will reduce our carbon footprint by 15% or over three million tonnes."