German riot police break up nuclear train protests

A train with a cargo of nuclear waste has finally arrived at its destination near a storage facility in Germany, after protesters tried to block the shipment. The toxic freight was transferred to lorries for the last part of its journey.

Environmentalists chained themselves to the tracks and put blockades along the line. The train’s annual journey from a nuclear plant in northern France to the site at Goerleben has been the target of protests in recent years.

The campaigners have staged protests all along the route, causing delivery to be delayed by some 12 hours. It has taken a massive security operation involving 16,000 police to enable the train to complete its journey. Last night riot police moved in to clear protesters from the tracks.