Activists from Extinction Rebellion, including two British Olympians, have broken into an oil refinery in Hampshire, the group has said.

Activists used their pink boat – the Beverly Geronimo – to blockade the main entrance to the Fawley ExxonMobil refinery, while other protesters cut through the site’s electric fence and have climbed two 50ft oil silos, Extinction Rebellion said in a statement.

The protesters, who include Olympic sailor Laura Baldwin and gold medal winning canoeist Etienne Stott, are demanding the government stops all fossil fuel investments and are also calling for Exxon Mobil to stop its expansion plans for the Fawley refinery.

ExxonMobil is a subsidiary of oil giant Esso and its Fawley site is the largest in the UK, supplying 20% of UK fossil fuels, according to XR.

The activists on top of the silos carried two banners, one saying “climate emergency” and the other “no future in fossil fuels”.

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