Thousands gather at Stonehenge days after it was spray painted by Just Stop Oil 

People who gathered to watch the summer solstice sunrise joined in condemning the protesters, who almost permanently damaged Stonehenge.

An estimated 15,000 people have gathered at Stonehenge to witness the sunrise on summer solstice – the longest day of the year

Cheers and drumming from the crowd, who included druids and other members of the pagan community, were heard as the first sunbeams crept over the horizon at 4.52am.

The event went ahead as normal after the prehistoric monument was vandalised by Just Stop Oil protesters on Wednesday.

Climate activists sprayed orange powder paint across some of the stones, despite being confronted by members of the public who managed to wrest a spray can away from them.

English Heritage removed the paint with special equipment but said the stones could have been severely damaged if rain had fallen before the clean-up.

Sally Ann Spence, an archaeology enthusiast who dressed up as a Stone Age shaman, said: ‘I understand their cause, I respect their cause. I just wish they hadn’t done that on Stonehenge.

‘I think to put anything on the stones is slightly misguided, there are very rare lichens on the stones, it’s a world heritage site.

‘Being here for the solstice and representing a shaman – admittedly, from a different period of time – is a brilliant experience.’

Archaeologists believe Stonehenge was built in phases starting between around 5000 and 3600 years ago.

The entire structure is aligned towards the sunrise on the summer solstice and sunset on winter solstice, indicating a sophisticated knowledge of solar movements by the builders.

Little is known about the culture that existed at the time, although the significant number of graves and ritual sites discovered in the surrounding area suggest it was of great importance to them.

Laura Debane, attending her fifth solstice at Stonehenge, condemned Just Stop Oil’s stunt as ‘awful’ but said she was glad the event had not been ruined.

‘If you want to make a protest go somewhere it’s going to mean something, not in a historical place like this because there’s no oil here, it’s sacred ground,’ she said.

Following the Just Stop Oil incident, a man in his 70s and a woman in her 20s were arrested on suspicion of criminal damage, damaging an ancient monument and deterring a person from engaging in a lawful activity.

The stunt was condemned as ‘pathetic’ and ‘disgraceful’ by Keir Starmer and Rishi Sunak respectively.

Dale Vince, a Labour donor who previously funded Just Stop Oil, said he did not support the action after being urged to comment on it by the prime minister.

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