TEN climate change protestors have been arrested at Biggin Hill Airport.

The group managed to shut the main entrance gates to the airport and lock them by bolting themselves to the metal bars.

Two of the group had put D-Locks around their necks and one was chained around the waist to the gate.

Another four chained themselves together and lay down on the floor in front of the gates.

The other three people were not chained to anything but all were arrested on suspicion of aggravated trespass.

Police had to cut the chained protesters from the gates, one at a time, before they were removed from the scene.

They will now all be taken to police stations in west London.

Police were called to the site at about 6.48am this morning and spoke to the demonstrators who refused to leave the site.

They were warned they would be arrested under the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act if they did not go.

The action is part of a large-scale protest against airport expansion and climate change taking place at Heathrow Airport this week.

Passengers arriving for flights were diverted to other entrances in the airport.

No flights were diverted or delayed.

Twenty-one-year-old Katrina Forrester was chained to the gates from about 6am when the protest started.

She says they do not want to stop normal passengers from travelling but want the Government to take steps against climate change.

However, they are angry about the use of private jets and the carbon they produce compared to travelling on a commercial flight.

The graduate said: "We are against private plane users.

"They are just ignoring demands made by a large part of the country because they just do not care.

"The focus of the campaign is really on the government, big business and corporations."

Airport director Peter Lonergan said the main entrance is an access point for emergency services in case of an incident.

A back-up plan had to be put in place while the protesters were at the site.

He said: "Biggin Hill being an international airport obviously has contingency plans for such events and has made alternative arrangements for the arrival and departure of passengers and air crews.

"At no time were any of the flights disrupted or delayed.

"Aviation contributes about three per cent of carbon emissions and business aviation is a small percent or aviation movement and carbon emissions is less than half a percent.

"If protestors are serious about reducing carbon emissions they should focus on the major contributors such as fossil fuel power stations."