Essex Police bringing in 'special raised platform' as Dartford Crossing protest continues
The local force says its considering 'all options' to bring the protest to a safe end
Last updated 18th Oct 2022
UPDATE: Both protestors have now been brought down and arrested.
Essex Police say they're bringing in specialist equipment in an effort to bring a protest, which has shut the QEII bridge on the Dartford Crossing, to an end.
Two Just Stop Oil demonstrators have scaled the cabling of the bridge and are now refusing to come down.
The bridge was closed yesterday and has remained shut since, with heavy traffic on both sides of the crossing in Essex and Kent.
The environmental activist group has demanded that the Government "halts all new oil and gas licences and consents" and said the climbers will remain on top of the bridge until they are "brought down".
Essex Police Chief Superintendent Simon Anslow said: “We are working as quickly and as safely as possible to resolve this situation.
“The two people who remain at height on the bridge have put themselves in considerable danger and as a result, we and our emergency services face a considerable challenge.
“Our priority is to keep our county moving but we also have a duty of care to the two people, as well as those who may be involved in any resolution at height.”
“I know this situation is incredibly frustrating, but we are doing everything possible to resolve this situation as quickly and as safely as possible.
“To be clear, we are not in any way anti-protest. The right to protest is enshrined in law and we will always seek to facilitate safe protest where we can.
“However, it is unacceptable for people to think they can put lives in danger and selfishly stop others going about their lives and the public rightly expect us to take action against anyone who believes they can do this – and we will.”