TWO activists have been charged over scaling an oil rig in a protest over climate change.

Lindsay Parkin, 50, and Alistair Sandell, 52, launched a protest at site near Gatwick on Saturday.

Pictures showed the men climbing the oil rig owned by UK Oil and Gas at Horse Hill.

Parkin, a management consultant from Brighton, and Sandell, a horticulturalist from Uckfield, were charged with aggravated trespass.

Both men are set to appear before Guildford Magistrates’ Court today (Monday).

They are both activists with the Brighton Extinction Rebellion group, raising awareness about climate change.

The men hung a banner from the rig saying “No More Oil” and stayed there, on a platform 15 metres above the ground, for 12 hours.

Extinction Rebellion says Surrey County Council approved plans for 20 years of oil production at the site in September 2019.

The group wants to launch a judicial review and has appealed for support with an online fundraiser.

It has so far raised £25,000. Visit chuffed.org/project/support-surrey-oil-legal-challenge.