Stonehenge monument sprayed orange in UK climate protest

AFP | London

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

UK police arrested two people yesterday after environmental activists sprayed an orange substance on Stonehenge, the renowned prehistoric UNESCO world heritage site in southwest England.

The Just Stop Oil protest group said two activists had "decorated Stonehenge in orange powder paint" to demand that Britain's next government legally commit to phasing out fossil fuels by 2030.

Footage posted on social media showed activists, wearing "Just Stop Oil" branded T-shirts, spraying a cluster of the megalithic standing stones with the orange substance from a small canister.

The group said Niamh Lynch, a 21-year-old student, and Rajan Naidu, 73, had used "orange cornflour" for the stunt. It claimed the substance would "soon wash away with the rain".

English Heritage, the public body which manages the site, said its experts were probing "the extent of the damage" to the circle of stones some of which are believed to date back 5,000 years.

Wiltshire Police said in a statement that it had arrested two people following the incident. "Officers attended the scene and arrested two people on suspicion of damaging the ancient monument," the force added.