Protestors arrested after storming Wimbledon court

Three protesters with the organization Just Stop Oil stormed the courts of Wimbledon twice Wednesday during first-round matches of the tennis tournament in London.

The climate protesters interrupted two matches on Court 18 at the tournament.

In the first disruption, a man and a woman jumped onto the court and spread orange confetti. In the second, another man stormed the court and again threw around orange confetti and spread the pieces from an official Wimbledon jigsaw puzzle onto the grass court.

The three were quickly apprehended by Wimbledon security and later arrested by Metropolitan Police in London.

Just Stop Oil announced last month that it would make an appearance at Wimbledon, saying on Twitter that the actions were to draw attention to climate change and to protest the event’s sponsor Barclays Bank.

“Yesterday, Monday, [3] July, was the hottest day ever recorded on planet Earth. A record that lasted until… Tuesday, 4 July. Two heat records — two Wimbledon actions,” the group said.

“Noticed the glaring Barclays logo? Yeah, that’s the world’s biggest fossil fuel-funding bank — sponsoring Wimbledon,” it added.

Play resumed after brief delays to pick up the confetti and debris.

Last October, Just Stop Oil protesters threw tomato soup at Vincent Van Gogh’s most famous painting, “Sunflowers”, at the National Gallery in London. The painting was not damaged.

Protestors from the organization also interrupted the World Snooker Championship in Sheffield, England, in April.

The organization has demanded that the U.K. stop new oil and gas extraction.