An East Sussex man has been arrested after putting up banners on Blackpool Tower.

The 24-year-old was arrested after protesting against the use of fracking, a method of extracting gas.

It is believed the man, along with a 63-year-old from Surrey, gained access to the tower by dressing as a builder.

The hung banners 280m up the south side of the Tower.

Police were called to the incident at 7.25am.

The men came down after an hour. Officers said they were being held on suspicion of criminal damage and being on enclosed premises.

It is thought that the men were protesting against the use of fracking, a controversial extraction process which blasts water into rock to release gas.

The Tower is close to the first fracking test well in the UK operated by Cuadrilla Resources.

However fracking has been temporarily suspended at the site, over fears of a link to two minor earthquakes in the area.