ECO protesters, hell-bent on causing havoc at the Coryton oil refinery, were foiled by police today.

The 40 environmental activists, who had come from as far away as Manchester, were heading for the refinery, in the Manorway, when they were met head-on by around 30 officers.

The demonstrators, part of a climate change action group called Rising Tide, were armed with scaffolding and ropes and had planned to erect make-shift towers to climb on to and blockade the site.

Their protest was part of a national day of action, billed Fossil Fools Day, organised by environmental groups.

It aimed to disrupt companies involved in the fossil fuels industry.

But, acting on intelligence, police swooped in the early hours of yesterday morning stopping the activists in their tracks.

Det chief insp Keith Dobson said officers were preparing for their swoop at 4am.

He said: "We had intelligence that sites around the country were being targeted.

"We have been patrolling our iconic sites in the area and were able to pick this team up before they were able to commit disruption to local businesses and the public who were getting into the site for work.

"If the protesters were using this to test the resolve of Essex Police, this is an example of our resolve.

"We are determined to stop people causing disruption like this to our local community." One of the demonstrators, a man who refused to give his name, said: "We are hoping to send out the message that burning fossil is causing climate change.

"This is a call to keep fossil fuels in the ground."

Police pulled over the protesters, who had travelled in a lorry and cars, three-miles away from the Petroplus-owned refinery.

They seized scaffolding and ropes before escorting the activists out of the county.

Georgina Clark, public affairs adviser at the refinery, which produces 172,000 barrels of crude oil a day and has one lorry through its gates every six minutes, thanked the police for their swift action.

She said: "We had prior warning that there might be protesters and the police handled it extremely well.

"However, we do have stringent security on the site and it still would have been very difficult for them to get access."