On Saturday 18th October, Coryton oil refinery in Essex was blockaded by around 500 Climate Camp activists. As part of the 'Crude Awakening' day of action, people had been invited to join one of three blocks meeting on Saturday morning at Euston, Victoria, and Waterloo. Each block had a theme but the actual target of the protest were kept secret, with the only suggestion that people come with charged oyster cards, some food and drink and some clothing appropriate for a whole day out on the streets.

A few hundred people turned up. Police Forward Intelligence Team (FIT) officers trailed the groups through on the tube to Fenchurch Street, and then onto an overland train to Essex. On the trains to the action, 'goodie bags' were distributed containing cords, cleats and arm tubes for locking on, along with legal information and masks. People were finally told where they were going and what the target was.

Owned by Petroplus, Coryton is the UK's busiest oil refinery, supplying oil products to petrol stations, airports and businesses throughout the South East. The protest aimed to blockade the refinery and stop all deliveries from the plant. The refinery is serviced by a dual-carriageway road. By the time the first hundred or so activists were getting off the train at Stanford-le-Hope, 12 women had already locked themselves on to two immobilised vehicles and police had closed down the road and were turning back tankers.

There were a few scuffles with police as the activists made their way across fields and public footpaths, but police were outnumbered and there were no arrests. Soon the amazing 'monkey' tripods were up across the carriageway, people were arm-locked around and between them, banners were hoisted and the game was over.

A second similar blockade sealed the refinery off completely and, just as police numbers increased and there was some concern they might move in, another couple of hundred activists appeared through the fields accompanied by a samba band, stilt walkers and two bicycle sound systems. FitWatch were busy obstructing police cameras and there was also a 'laundry' changing area with free clothes, where people could transform their look if they wished to further confound identification.

For more details, see www.crudeawakening.org.uk.