Power plant protesters arrested

Greenpeace campaigners entered the power station on Thursday

Environmental campaigners who climbed a 650ft (200m) tower at Didcot power station have been arrested by police.

All 25 Greenpeace supporters were held as they descended the tower and nearby conveyor belts where they had mounted a protest spanning two days.

Police made the arrests on suspicion of criminal damage and aggravated trespass at the Oxfordshire site.

Five people remain in police custody and a further 20 have been released on bail until January 2007.

Campaigners bypassed security to launch a protest at the site in the early hours of Thursday morning.

The Greenpeace group said they wanted the coal-fuelled plant to close as they believe it makes a "massive contribution" to climate change.

On Friday, operator Npower served the Greenpeace group with an injunction instructing them to leave the site.

The site's managers had been negotiating with the protesters, some of whom had spent the night camped out at the top of a site tower, on which they had painted the message "Blair's Legacy".

Power generation at the site was reduced by the protest, but Npower said it did not stop.

Didcot Power Station provides electricity for two million homes

Members of the Greenpeace team, who also chained themselves to equipment at the power station, said they were ending their protest so they could attend the Climate Change rally due to be held in London at the weekend.

Kevin Akhurst, managing director of generation and renewables at Npower, said: "Regarding Greenpeace's point of view, we fully support clean energy and we're at the forefront of developing it.

"Some coal is needed to maintain secure and affordable energy and for now stations like Didcot meet that need."