Just Stop Oil activists arrested over Dippy the Diplodocus protest

The video showed the pair revealing Just Stop Oil T-shirts before being confronted by security staff.

Two climate change activists have been arrested after attempting to stage a protest at a dinosaur exhibit.

They entered Herbert Art Gallery and Museum's Dippy the Diplodocus display in Coventry at 10:00 BST on Monday.

A video released by campaign group Just Stop Oil (JSO) showed them being tackled by security staff and led away.

West Midlands Police said two people were held on suspicion of conspiracy to cause criminal damage and "two large bags of dry paint" had been seized.

The force said "protest liaison officers" had remained at the museum to "keep people safe and limit disruption to a minimum".

• Just Stop Oil: What is it and what are its goals?

The video showed the man and woman revealing JSO T-shirts before being confronted by security staff.

One staff member was shown seizing the man's rucksack, while another tackled the woman, telling her to "stop it, stop it now. Do you understand?"

The pair were tackled by security staff before being led away by police

JSO has described itself as "a coalition of groups working together to ensure the government commits to halting new fossil fuel licensing and production".

In a statement, one of the activists said he felt he had "no choice" but to take part in the protest because "we're barrelling towards suffering, mass death and the annihilation of our species".

"I cannot and will not commit myself to a future of powerlessly watching these horrors unfold," he said.

"The dinosaurs had no choice; we do."

The 26-metre long (85ft) cast of a diplodocus skeleton began a three-year residency at the gallery in February and has proved hugely popular with visitors.

It was previously seen by more than two million people on a UK tour after its 112-year stay in the Natural History Museum ended in 2017.

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