Police have arrested almost 400 people who had blockaded the Amsterdam A10 ring road on Saturday afternoon.

It took almost two hours to remove everyone from the highway, three hours after the protest began, broadcaster NOS said.

Demonstrators moved onto the motorway shortly after 12.30 when several of them had stopped their cars on the highway, forcing the rest of the traffic to halt. The protest took place close to the junction between the A10 and the A4 motorway and next to the former ING offices.

Extinction Rebellion organised the protest as part of their campaign to get ING to stop investing in fossil fuels.

The public prosecution department said because the protest was peaceful, it has not to take legal action against most of the 400, NOS said. This would take up scarce police capacity, a spokesman said.

However, seven of those arrested were picked up because they had stopped their cars on the road and a further 13 are still being sought. Amsterdam had banned the demonstration, saying it was both dangerous and risky.