Activists bid to block access to German village cleared for coal mine expansion

Police officers carry away a demonstrator to clear a road in the village of Luetzerath (Michael Probst/AP)

Several hundred climate activists are trying to block heavy machinery from entering an abandoned village in Germany which is due to be cleared for the expansion of a coal mine.

The disputed evacuation of the hamlet of Luetzerath, west of Cologne, has become a battleground between the government and environmentalists.