Climate activitists from Extinction Rebellion blocked the A12 motorway close to parliament in The Hague on Saturday morning, despite being told to take their protest elsewhere.

Police had surrounded the area with screens in an effort to stop the demonstrators reaching the road, which is a major highway into the city centre.

However, shortly before midday, some demonstrators broke through the barriers and blocked the road in both directions, with police warning they will be arrested should they fail to move.

#Actievoerders zijn door de politieafzetting gebroken bij de ingang van de #Utrechtsebaan en zijn een sit-down actie gestart. Zij worden gevorderd om weg te gaan. Doen zij dat niet dan worden zij aangehouden. pic.twitter.com/87ufgqEnKG

— Politie Eenheid Den Haag (@POL_DenHaag) March 11, 2023

Mayor Jan van Zanen has also given police the green light to use water canon to disperse demonstrators if necessary.

Earlier in the day police stopped several dozen tractors which were heading for a second demonstration south of the city centre on Saturday morning.

That protest, organised by the radical Farmers Defence Force, is taking place at the Zuiderpark because the Malieveld close to parliament is being used for preparations for Sunday’s city run.

City officials said earlier they would close off some roads to stop the demonstrators driving into the city.

Er zijn flexibele #wegafzettingen om te voorkomen dat demonstranten met hun #tractoren het centrum inrijden. Als de situatie daarom vraagt wordt de doorgang tijdelijk afgesloten #11maart #DenHaag #demonstratie pic.twitter.com/FeXgfKMjD5

— Politie Eenheid Den Haag (@POL_DenHaag) March 11, 2023

The farmers are being joined in their protest by the Samen voor Nederland (SvNL) campaign group, which says it is demonstrating against the government’s nitrogen policy and delays in solving the childcare benefit and Groningen gas scandals.