Greenpeace protest at Mirfield garage

Members of Greenpeace gathered outside the Shell garage in Leeds Road to try and stop the firm drilling for oil in the Arctic.

They handed out leaflets about Greenpeace’s Save The Arctic campaign, which calls on the United Nations to make the North Pole a protected global sanctuary.

Mirfield Greenpeace volunteer Jeff Rice said: “The Arctic is a fragile and beautiful place. An oil spill there would be catastrophic.

“On top of this, the climate can’t take it. We need to leave fossil fuels in the ground if we’re to address climate change.”

The group is asking people to sign its Arctic Scroll, which already has two million names on it.

Mr Rice said: “The Arctic Scroll will be placed in an indestructible pod and taken to the North Pole.

“There we’ll lower it through the ice and 4km of freezing water and plant your name on the seabed on the bottom of the ocean at the top of the world.”