Wimbledon game suspended after Just Stop Oil run onto court and cover it in confetti

Play has been suspended at Wimbledon after two Just Stop Oil protesters ran onto the grass and threw orange confetti.

The environmental activist group confirmed it was behind the stunt, posting footage of two people running onto the pitch during a match between Sho Shimabukuro and Grigor Dimitrov on Twitter.

The duo could be seen throwing bright orange confetti across the grass, as the crowd watching began to shout and boo.

"At 14:08, two Just Stop Oil supporters ran onto Court 18 at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships, disrupting the match between Sho Shimabukuro and Grigor Dimitrov by throwing environmentally friendly orange confetti glitter and jigsaw pieces onto the courts before being removed," the group said.

"Play was briefly delayed whilst marshals picked up the pieces. Today’s action comes as the @metoffice confirmed on Monday that this June has been the hottest on record, with the average monthly temperature of 15.8°C exceeding the previous record set in 1976 by 0.9°C."

Twitter/@JustStop_Oil

It added: "The @Wimbledon Championships are currently under fire after signing a sponsorship deal with @Barclays, who have given £30 billion to oil and gas companies, including @exxonmobil, @Shell and @TotalEnergies, in the last two years."

Deborah Wilde, 68, was one of the protesters who ran on the court.

The retired teacher from London said: “I’m just an ordinary grandmother in resistance to this government’s policy of serving us new oil and gas licences. In normal circumstances this sort of disruption would be entirely unacceptable, but these aren’t normal circumstances.

“We’ve just had the hottest June on record, breaking the previous record by nearly a whole degree. We don’t need Hawk-eye to see that our government issuing over 100 new fossil fuel licences is a very bad line-call.

“Forget strawberries and cream, scientists are warning of impending food shortages, mass displacement and war. We are facing new pandemics, economic inflation and increasingly authoritarian governments who will attempt to crush civil unrest.

“This is a crisis and it needs a crisis response. I want a safe future, not just for my grandchildren but for all children around the world and the generations to come.”

The other Just Stop Oil protester was Simon Milner-Edwards, 66, who is a retired musician from Manchester.

He said: “I’m here for my grandchildren and everybody else’s. I’m not prepared to let our politicians wreck everything and leave the next generation to pick up the pieces.

“The last thing I want to do is spoil people’s enjoyment of Wimbledon, but right now, on Centre Court, it’s humanity versus oil and gas – and the umpire is getting every call wrong.

“How long are we going to take this before we see a McEnroe-level meltdown?”

Twitter/@JustStop_Oil

Earlier this week, tennis ace Andy Murray had said he felt there was a 'good chance' Wimbledon would be disrupted by Just Stop Oil activists.

While the two-time Wimbledon champion said he agreed with the cause, he urged protesters to think of a 'different way' of getting their concerns heard.

“I think there is probably a good chance of something happening here,” Murray said.

“I was talking about it with my family the other day. I don’t know, if somebody ran onto the court and came towards you, what your reaction would be to that because you don’t know who it is or what they are doing or why they are doing it.

“I didn’t see what Jonny Bairstow did, but it could be dangerous. If they would attach themselves to the net or throw something onto the court – they have to be a bit careful going too near to tennis players who have obviously got rackets in their hands.

“I agree with the cause – just not always how they go about expressing it. Rather than running on the court, maybe they could do it a different way.”

Just Stop Oil has been behind a number of disruptions to high-profile sporting events this year, including - most recently - the second Ashes test, along with stunts at the Grand National, the World Snooker Championship and Premiership Rugby final.