The orange powder paint sprayed on Stonehenge is removed

Orange powder paint sprayed on part of Stonehenge by activists has been removed.

Two Just Stop Oil protesters were arrested after they sprayed cornmeal at the historic site near Salisbury, Wiltshire, at around 12:00 BST on Wednesday.

English Heritage chief executive Dr Nick Merriman said there appeared to be “no visible damage” to the 5,000-year-old landmark after experts cleared the site.

Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Dr Merriman also confirmed the site would be open for the summer solstice celebrations as normal from 7pm BST on Thursday.

Wiltshire Police said the two protesters had been released on bail “to allow us more time to work with specialists and progress our enquiries”.

They had been arrested on suspicion of criminal damage, damaging an ancient monument and discouraging a person from engaging in a lawful activity.

English Heritage said the orange paint was removed using a “specialised hand blower”.

He told the BBC that if rain had come into contact with the powder, the damage could have been significant.

The stones are covered with over fifty different lichens, some of them rare. This meant that it was not possible to brush or wash off the paint.

“It is difficult to understand and we are deeply saddened by this vandalism, but we have been truly touched by the messages of sympathy and support we have had,” Dr Merriman said.

“Our experts have already managed to clean the orange dust off the stones because we were very concerned about what would happen if they came into contact with water.

“So far, there appears to be no visible damage. The site is open to the public again for tomorrow’s solstice.”

Dr Merriman called the act “vandalism to one of the world’s most famous ancient monuments”.

He added: “We want people to channel their protests away from cultural heritage sites, museums and galleries as we believe this is not actually helping their cause and causing huge disruption and disruption to the functioning of these important sites.”

Demonstration condemned

The demonstration was condemned by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Labor Party leader Sir Keir Starmer.

Just Stop Oil said its motivation is to call on the next UK government to end the extraction and burning of oil, gas and coal by 2030.

The group said the orange powder paint was cornmeal and “will wash off with rain.”

He named the two protesters as Niamh Lynch, a 21-year-old student from Oxford, and Rajan Naidu, a 73-year-old man from Birmingham, in a statement.

Wiltshire Police confirmed on Wednesday that two people had been arrested on suspicion of damaging the ancient monument.

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