HS2 work halted by overnight protest on nature reserve

Work crews and police leave Hillingdon site as activists mount Extinction Rebellion-style blockade

Four environmental protesters have stopped work by shackling themselves on a nature reserve where a new phase of construction of the HS2 high-speed rail link had been due to start on Wednesday evening.

The group locked themselves to a contraption made of chimney pieces in a field at the Colne Valley nature reserve in Hillingdon where HS2 operatives are currently working on the controversial rail project.