Stonehenge damaged after being covered in orange spray paint by Just Stop Oil (2024)

Just Stop Oil activists have sprayed Stonehenge orange on the eve of the summer solstice.

Sightseers screamed ‘no’ and ran to block the campaigners, named by the group as Rajan Naidu, 73, and Niamh Lynch, 21, as they approached the stone circle on Wednesday.

Video footage posted on social media showed two people wearing white shirts with the slogan Just Stop Oil, approaching the monoliths with canisters spraying orange paint.

The stunt was widely condemned on social media, with ‘Stonehenge’ and ‘arseholes’ simultaneously trending in the hours afterwards.

Even Rishi Sunak and Sir Keir Starmer were united in their denunciation.

The Prime Minister described it as a ‘disgraceful act of vandalism’ while the Labour leader branded the group ‘pathetic’.

Several of the iconic stones – dating back to the late Neolithic period – were seen covered before one protester sat on the grass and another was detained by a day tripper.

Two people were later arrested.

A spokeswoman for English Heritage described the incident as ‘extremely upsetting’.

She said: ‘Orange powdered paint has been thrown at a number of the stones at Stonehenge.

‘Obviously, this is extremely upsetting and our curators are investigating the extent of the damage. Stonehenge remains open to the public.’

The incident happened on Wednesday at about 12pm, the day before the summer solstice is celebrated at Stonehenge, which is the heart of a World Heritage site.

In a statement, Just Stop Oil said its action was to demand that the incoming UK Government should agree a plan with other governments to end the extraction and burning of oil, gas and coal by 2030.

A spokesperson said: ‘The UK’s government in waiting has committed to enacting Just Stop Oil’s original demand of “no new oil and gas”. However, we all know this is not enough. Continuing to burn coal, oil and gas will result in the death of millions.

‘We have to come together to defend humanity or we risk everything. That’s why Just Stop Oil is demanding that our next government sign up to a legally-binding treaty to phase out fossil fuels by 2030.

‘Failure to commit to defending our communities will mean Just Stop Oil supporters, along with citizens from Austria, Canada, Norway, the Netherlands and Switzerland, will join in resistance this summer, if their own governments do not take meaningful action.

‘Stone circles can be found in every part of Europe showing how we’ve always co-operated across vast distances – we’re building on that legacy.’

The group said it used orange cornflour paint to spray onto the stones, which it claimed would ‘soon wash away with the rain’.

Around 8,000 people gathered at Stonehenge to mark the longest day of the year in 2023, with similar numbers expected on Thursday.

The solstice will be celebrate from 7pm on Thursday until 8am on Friday.

In quotes provided by Just Stop Oil, Ms Lynch, said to be a student from Oxford, said the continued burning of oil, coal and gas was leading to ‘death and suffering’.

‘It’s time for us to think about what our civilization will leave behind – what is our legacy?’ she said.

‘Standing inert for generations works well for stones – not climate policy.’

Just Stop Oil said Rajan Naidu, 73, from Birmingham, added: ‘Either we end the fossil fuel era, or the fossil fuel era will end us.

‘Just as fifty years ago, when the world used international treaties to defuse the threats posed by nuclear weapons, today the world needs a Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty to phase out fossil fuels and to support dependent economies, workers and communities to move away from oil, gas and coal.’

English Heritage describes Stonehenge as perhaps the world’s most famous prehistoric monument.

It was built in several stages, with the first an early henge monument erected about 5,000 years ago.

The stone circle was erected in the late Neolithic period, about 2,500 BC. Burial mounds were built nearby in the early Bronze Age.

Stonehenge, together with Avebury, forms the heart of a World Heritage Site.

Wiltshire Police confirmed two people were arrested.

A spokesperson said: ‘At around noon, we responded to a report that orange paint had been sprayed on some of the stones by two suspects.

‘Officers attended the scene and arrested two people on suspicion of damaging the ancient monument.

‘Our enquiries are ongoing, and we are working closely with English Heritage.’

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.

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