Protesters disrupt play at Wimbledon

The Just Stop Oil activists threw orange-coloured confetti and a jigsaw onto the grass during a match between Grigor Dimitrov and Sho Shimabukuro

A Just Stop Oil protester runs onto Court 18 and releases confetti on day three of the Wimbledon tennis championships in London. AP

Protesters disrupted play at Wimbledon on Wednesday, throwing orange confetti and a jigsaw puzzle onto the grass.

Just Stop Oil activists ran on to Court 18 to scatter the items during a match between Grigor Dimitrov and Sho Shimabukuro, before another sat down on the court.

In a statement the group said "we can't leave it to the next generation to pick up the pieces".

Deborah Wilde, 68, a retired teacher from London, who was one of the protesters who ran on the court shortly after 2.10pm, 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."

She added: "Forget strawberries and cream, scientists are warning of impending food shortages, mass displacement and war.

"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 who invaded Court 18 at Wimbledon was Simon Milner-Edwards, 66, 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 stunt came on the day British Home Secretary Suella Braverman is due to hold talks with senior sporting figures and police chiefs to end a spate of disruptions to summer tournaments.

Wimbledon brought in tougher security checks this year aimed at rooting out climate protesters which have slowed entry to the tennis tournament, resulting in delays, with some saying the queue was the "worst" they had seen on Monday.

This is a developing story...