Woman hoses down Just Stop Oil protestors who smeared orange paint at Chelsea Flower Show
A trio of activists from Just Stop Oil have been arrested at the Chelsea Flower Show, but not before throwing orange paint over a garden and getting sprayed with a hose.
At around 9am this morning (25 May), three activists stepped into a show garden at the popular horticultural event and threw orange paint around, staining the ground and some of the flowers.
They then laid out the aims of their protest and got sprayed with water from a woman with a hose, who appeared to be trying to move them.
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Police later arrested the three on suspicion of causing criminal damage, with Commander Karen Findlay of the Met Police saying the garden had been 'criminally damaged'.
A spokesperson for the Royal Horticultural Society said there had been no disruption to the Chelsea Flower Show and that the gardens on display were still open to guests.
Stepping into the garden and throwing orange paint over one of the gardens, they declared that 'humanity is failing' to tackle the climate change crisis.
They said: "The flowers that you love, the buildings that you treasure, the buildings that you adore.
"What is the point in a garden if you can't feed yourself, what is the point in a garden if you can't eat, what is the point in tradition if society is collapsing around you?"
Their protests were met with shouts of 'shame on you' and a few wails of despair from people attending the Chelsea Flower Show, while others asked the Just Stop Oil protesters 'how did you get here today'.
Some in the crowd declared that they would join future protests when invited to do so and a few in the crowd applauded after the trio said they'd be staying in the garden until they were arrested.
One person at the Chelsea Flower Show brought up a hose and started to spray the protesters as they stood in the garden, though it did nothing to move them from their spot.
Their plant-painting split opinion as there are plenty who really aren't fans of Just Stop Oil, as evidenced by some calling the person who sprayed them with a hose a 'hero'.
Someone else said 'this lot need a PR advisor' as they were sceptical that showing up at the Chelsea Flower Show was going to convince anyone to join their cause.
Another said it 'makes absolutely no sense at all' for environmental protesters to be disrupting plants, as while they were trying to call on the government to stop new oil, coal and gas projects many thought a garden wasn't the best place to make that point.
Just Stop Oil protesters have caused a wide range of disruptions, often involving staining something orange, but some people have really taken against the group to the point that a driver rammed into a protester with their car.
Topics: UK News, Environment
Joe Harker