The protesters wanted to highlight climate change

The group gained access to the coal-fired plant in Ratcliffe-on-Soar on Tuesday. Some claimed to have chained themselves to machinery.

The Eastside Climate Action group said it was protesting against the facility in the face of climate change.

Plant owner E.On said the power station was operating as usual.

"We're campaigning against climate change and CO2 emissions and these sources of energy are massively polluting and are contributing massively to climate change," said one of the protesters.

Climate concerns

"We feel that not enough is happening quickly enough. If we want a future for our planet, we really need to act now."

"We understand that people do have concerns about climate change but Ratcliffe Power Station does an incredibly important job to keep the lights on for about 1.5 million homes," said Emily Highmore, from E.On.

"But as a company we are investing hundreds of millions of pounds into making sure that Ratcliffe is one of the cleanest and most efficient coal-powered power stations in the UK."

The protesters did not cause damage to buildings or equipment on the site, she added.

Insp Glenn Harper of Nottinghamshire Police said: "A number of arrests have been made. There are no protesters left on the site now. However a number still remain outside the power station."