Activists from Extinction Rebellion (XR) have occupied the drilling site at Horse Hill in Surrey today (Saturday, October 10) to protest the ongoing extraction of fossil fuels at the site.

At least two activists, who XR said were "fathers concerned about the future of their children" in the face of the climate emergency were pictured atop a tall rig at the Horse Hill site that is involved in extracting fossil fuels from the area.

The two men reportedly entered the site "in the early hours of this morning" and, using an access ladder, climbed the rig to a platform approximately 15 metres above the ground.

They then conducted a banner drop which bore the XR symbol of an hourglass and the message: No More Oil.

XR Activist and father Lindsay Parkin, 50, a management consultant from Brighton, said: “I am desperately trying to draw attention to a picturesque corner of Sussex, where an act of colossal, short sighted stupidity is playing out the global climate catastrophe in miniature."

"Look at it! A quiet wooded glade is now an oil well torturing the earth to extract the fossil fuels that are killing us all – and this is going to go on for twenty years," Lindsay added.

"Madness that no amount of letter writing has addressed – so we are here to take direct action to get it highlighted and to get it stopped."

Extinction Rebellion demand immediate and drastic action to address the escalating climate crisis that increasing numbers of scientific studies have said threatens the continuation of human life on the planet.

That means governments acting to ensure the rapid reduction and eventual elimination of carbon emissions from human activity, in order to prevent catastrophic warming in the atmosphere that could yet prove irreversible.

The group also demand that the government "tell the truth" regarding how serious the climate crisis is and convene citizens' assemblies of randomly selected citizens to help draft policies on how to reduce emissions as fast as possible.

Surrey Police told the Surrey Comet they were aware of the protest but would not be intervening immediately as it was taking place on private land:

"We were made aware that two people had entered the drilling site at Horse Hill, Horley, earlier today (10 October).

"The site is on private property and as such, the responsibility for removing the two people sits with the owners of the site.

"We will deal with any offences which are disclosed to us once the people have been removed," a spokesperson for the county police force said.

UK Oil and Gas, who manage the site, were contacted for comment by the Surrey Comet.

In previous instances of XR protests at the site the fossil fuel company have defended their work as helping produce key plastic products, and criticised XR demonstrators who protest on site:

"Petroleum derived products come in all shapes and sizes but any medical facility...depend on plastics, because they are sterile, easily manufactured and durable," a spokesperson for the company told the Comet in June.