Greenpeace ends of occupation of Brent oil field platform

Greenpeace protesters climbed on to the Brent Alpha on Monday

Greenpeace has ended occupations of oil and gas structures in the North Sea's Brent field due to worsening weather.

Protesters spent the night on the Brent Alpha platform, which is undergoing decommissioning, and the concrete legs of the former Bravo platform.

Greenpeace was protesting against the method of decommissioning platforms in the oil field which is about 116 miles (186km) north east of Shetland.

Shell said its "prime concern" was the safety of its staff and the protesters.

The protest began on Monday morning when campaigners climbed on to the Brent Alpha and Bravo's legs.

Greenpeace is opposed to what it has described as "thousands of tonnes of hazardous oily sludge" being left inside the concrete legs of decommissioned platforms.

The legs are left behind after the rest of a platform's structure has been removed.

Shell said it and its partner Exxon Mobil have spent 10 years conducting in-depth research into decommissioning the Brent platforms as part of a "tightly-controlled regulatory process".