Protestors halt work at HS2 site in Birmingham by climbing on digger

Protestors entered the HS2 Curzon Street site in Birmingham, forcing them to shut down work.

It comes as protests were carried across the city by Extinction Rebellion (XR) and HS2 Rebellion against the railway project.

Campaigners against HS2 in Birmingham had already pretended to be dead outside the rail project's HQ as part of nationwide protests.

They lay on the floor to "mourn the loss of biodiversity" with HS2 cutting through ancient woodland across the Midlands and elsewhere.

Protests were carried out, which were held to call on the Government to scrap the high-speed rail project – and instead invest in sustainable projects.

In Shropshire, groups coordinated to hang banners from bridges including the famous Iron Bridge in the Ironbridge Gorge and the Frankwell footbridge in central Shrewsbury to kick off the organisation's 'September Rebellion'.

Banners have also been unfurled in Chirk, Bishops Castle and Clun, in support of a protest outside the houses of Parliament in London.

Members from XR and HS2 Rebllion gathered outside Birmingham's Curzon Street station for speeches, followed by a socially-distanced funeral procession to HS2's headquarters at Snowhill.

Activists chanted "NHS not HS2" before they staged a "die-in" and eulogy for lost ecology outside the offices.

The groups are opposed to HS2’s cost, which has already doubled to £106 billion and is likely to increase further.

They say HS2 will also destroy some of the last remaining ancient woodland in the Midlands, with at least 108 sites severely impacted or destroyed nationwide.

The events are part of a weekend of national protests leading up to an occupation of Parliament Square in London on Tuesday.

Members of Extinction Rebellion will be calling for MPs to back the Climate and Ecological Emergency Bill – citing the Government's 'failure' on the climate crisis.

The bill requires the Government to enact urgent measures to curb greenhouse gas emissions.