CLIMATE activists blocked all entrances to a large-scale HS2 tunnelling site today morning, grinding construction work to a halt. 

Extinction Rebellion (XR) protesters erected bamboo structures to prevent workers accessing the 135-acre tunnelling site in West Hyde, Hertfordshire. 

Two giant tunnelling machines measuring 170m in length, designed to burrow through the chalk and flint under the Chilterns – an area of outstanding natural beauty – will be launched early next year at the site.