A specialist police team is now at the scene in Kirby Misperton, where the four protesters are lying in the road with their arms locked into metal tubing outside a planned fracking site.

The protest is the latest in a string of demonstrations this month, in which several people have been arrested, ahead of planned fracking at the site off Habton Road later this year.

It comes after campaigners chained themselves to concrete barrels outside the site on Monday.Today (Wednesday), police said the protesters are "refusing to discuss their intentions" with officers at the scene.

North Yorkshire Police have warned that while Habton Road remains open, people could face disruption and delays in the area later in the day.

Superintendent Alisdair Dey, of North Yorkshire Police, said: “The actions of these people will cause significant disruption to local businesses.

"It's a challenge to balance the the right of people to assemble and protest peacefully, against the right of people to go about their daily lives without disruption. However, when the balance tips from peaceful protest to deliberate, unlawful acts that cause unreasonable disruption to others - including companies going about their lawful business - then we need to take action."

Anti-fracking campaigners 'locked to metal tubes' in latest North Yorkshire protest