Dozens of climate change protestors have been arrested after gaining access to a secure area of the runway at Stansted airport.

Activists from the Plane Stupid group chained themselves to their own security fence at 03:15 GMT this morning, leading to delays and cancellations at the airport.

A spokesperson for Stansted airport said the runway is now open and they are "slowly getting back to normal operations".

Essex police have arrested 57 people after cutting the protestors from the fence and the runway was re-opened at 08:10 GMT.

The police said the suspects would be taken to stations and questioned following the incident.

Plane Stupid said it was protesting against government plans to expand Stansted and the environmental impact it would cause.

One protestor, 21-year-old Lily, told inthenews.co.uk: "We're here because our parents' generation has failed us and it's now down to young people to stop climate change by whatever peaceful means we have left.

"We're afraid of what the police might do to us, we're afraid of going to jail but nothing scares us as much as the threat of runaway climate change. We've thought through the consequences of what we're doing here but we're determined to stop as many tonnes of CO2 as we can."

In a statement on the group's website, Plane Stupid said: "The group intends to maintain its blockade for as long as possible, preventing the release of thousands of tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere."

The group hopes to prevent departures from the airport, with a hope of slowing the "monumental" impact of climate change.

A spokesperson for airport operator BAA said: "We are happy to engage in serious debates on airport expansion, and we respect people's right to protest within the bounds of the law.

"However, any unlawful or irresponsible behaviour aimed at disrupting the smooth operation of the airport is unacceptable. People should engage in the relevant independent planning inquiries in an open, honest and safe way.

"We will of course investigate this incident and where there are lessons to learn we will do so."

BAA has recently been given permission to expand operations at Stansted.

Plans are now being finalised to increase passenger numbers from 25 million to 35 million a year at Stansted, with the number of flights leaving the airport increasing from 241,000 to 264,000 a year.

BAA urged passengers to check with their airlines before travelling and warned of cancellations and delays.

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