Green campaigners board freighter
Climate change campaigners have boarded a coal freighter in a bid to prevent it unloading its cargo at a power station.
Greenpeace said nine activists climbed abord the ship just after midnight as it travelled along the River Medway to the Kingsnorth Power Station in Kent.
The group used rigid inflatable speedboats to pull up alongside the vessel and attached climbing ladders to scale the 15 metre hull, a spokesman said.
Some of the group, who Greenpeace said have enough food and water to remain on the vessel for several days, have managed to scale the ship's funnel and foremast.
One of the protesters, Sarah Shoraka, 31, said: "There are nine of us on the ship. We have split into three teams of three, with one team on foremast, another on the funnel and the third hanging off the side."
There are also reports of three protesters swimming in the river in front of the vessel in an attempt to prevent it docking outside the power station.
Kent police said it received reports of protesters boarding a ship at around 10.50pm on Sunday night but it has not yet made any arrests.
The campaigners said they are protesting against plans by energy giant E.ON to build a new coal-fired power plant at Kingsnorth.
Ms Shoraka, who works for Greenpeace, continued: "Scientists are telling us we can't beat climate change if we keep burning coal, and yet climate change minister Ed Miliband's new policies would still allow E.ON to build the dirtiest new power station in Britain for 30 years.
"The experts say we have the technologies we need to slash emissions and power Britain with renewable energy and more efficient use of cleaner fuels, it just needs the politicians to give them the green light."
