Flights at Heathrow were disrupted after protesters cut through a fence and chained themselves together on a runway this morning.

Richmond and Twickenham Times:

Smiling: One of the protesters this morning Credit: Plane Stupid

Thirteen demonstrators from action group Plane Stupid broke into the northern runway at 3.30am.

They runway was closed for almost three hours, with 13 flights cancelled, as the demonstrators protested against expansion plans.

Six people were arrested on suspicion of Aviation Act offences.

A Heathrow spokesman said: "All protesters have now been safely removed following earlier protest activity at the airport and our runways are operating as normal.

"We are experiencing some delays and cancellations and you are advised to check your flight status below before travelling to the airport.

"We are sorry for the disruption - our priority remains to ensure the safe running of the airport."

All protesters were removed by 10am and the airport's southern runway remained open throughout.

Security concerns have been raised about how the campaigners accessed the north runway.