AN 'angry' and 'heartbroken' South Cumbrian climate protestor was involved in the disruption of the World Snooker Championship in Sheffield.

Just Stop Oil activists Margaret Reid, from Kendal, and Eddie Whittingham, from Exeter, invaded the match between Robert Milkins and Joe Perry.

Mr Whittingham evaded security, jumped on the table and tipped out orange paint powder.

Ms Reid was prevented from executing a similar stunt on the other table after being tackled by quick-thinking referee Olivier Marteel.

South Yorkshire Police said a 25-year-old man and a 52-year-old woman were arrested on suspicion of criminal damage and are in police custody.

The force said in a statement: "Two people were detained after protesters gained entry to The Crucible earlier this evening.

"A 25-year-old man and a 52-year-old woman were arrested on suspicion of criminal damage. Both are in police custody."

Play was suspended for the evening on the affected table, which will be re-covered overnight, while the match between Mark Allen and Fan Zhengyi resumed after a delay of approximately 45 minutes.

According to Just Stop Oil, they are demanding that the government stop all new UK fossil fuel projects and are calling on UK sporting institutions to join in civil resistance against the government’s policies.

It is the second time in three days that a major domestic sporting event has been disrupted after 118 people were arrested at Aintree on Saturday as they tried to scale the perimeter fence at the Grand National.

The pair were held backstage by tournament security officials until the police arrived.

52-year-old Ms Reid, a former museum professional, said: "I did not take this action lightly but I cannot remain a passive spectator while our government knowingly pushes us down a path to destruction.

"They are giving handouts of £236 million per week of our money, to the most profitable industry on earth, during a cost of living crisis. I can no longer justify watching from the side lines.

"I am angry and heartbroken that I have found myself in a position where taking this sort of disruptive action is the only way to get heard.”

Mr Whittingham, a student at Exeter University, said: "I don’t want to be disrupting something that people enjoy, but we’re facing an extremely grave situation.

"Europe is experiencing its worst drought in 500 years. We’re seeing mass crop failure right now. We’re facing mass starvation, billions of refugees and civilisational collapse if this continues.

"We can’t continue to sit back and act as if everything’s OK. If you want to do something to prevent the greatest crisis we’ve ever faced, go to juststopoil.org and sign up for a slow march from April 24th in London."