TWITTER•SKY NEWS Cutting equipment is drafted in as police try to move Black Lives Matter protesters from the road

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As thousands of holidaymakers made their way to the airport on Friday morning, they were met with long tailbacks after the protesters spread banners across arterial routes. Police have drafted in cutting equipment to saw through the chains which the protesters have used to lock themselves to each other and concrete blocks covered with what appears to be tubing.

GETTY Protesters lie in the road

Helmets were placed on the protesters and a sheet held up blocking their view as specialist equipment was used to hammer through the chains. It is believed the group are taking action as part of #BlackAugust, a campaign to raise awareness of racism.

SKY Specialist cutting equipment has been drafted in to try and remove the chains from the protesters

The entrance to the airport was blocked by the group who unfurled a giant banner saying Black Lives Matter. A group of protesters had earlier blocked the main road leading to Birmingham Airport and Black Lives Matter campaigners said further action was planned as traffic also ground to a halt in Nottingham as people lay on the tram tracks.

Around 205,400 passengers a day travel to Heathrow airport to jet off to destinations around the world. A Heathrow Airport spokesman: “Heathrow supports the right to peaceful protest within the law, but the safety and security of our passengers, aircraft and colleagues together with the smooth running of the operation is paramount. "We are sorry to those passengers whose journeys are being disrupted and we are working with the authorities to resolve the issue.” WHAT IS BLACK LIVES MATTER?

TWITTER Traffic stacks up near Heathrow Airport

A Metropolitan Police spokesman said they had arrested a number of people near Heathrow but the situation was ongoing and they were in the process of "safely releasing" those chained together. The spokesman said: "Police were called at 8:25am on Friday, January 5, to the M4 slip road, Heathrow Airport. "A number of people were reported to be blocking the road leading to the airport. "Officers have attended and a number of people have been arrested."

GETTY Protesters lie on the tram tracks in Nottingham

Highways England issued a tweet sayinhg there was congestion stacking back along the M4 which is increasing. Traffic is now stacked back to Heston Services, some 13 miles away from Heathrow. WHAT IS BLACK LIVES MATTER?

TWITTER Highways England's tweet about the traffic congestion on the M4 near Heathrow

A spokesman for Heathrow Airport said he advised people to allow for a longer journey time but stressed the airport was operating as normal and anyone worried about their flight should contact their airline. The Black Lives Matter UK (BLMUK) group said on its Facebook page. "We call a nationwide #‎Shutdown on 05/08/16. #Shutdown racism. #Shutdown violence. #Shutdown borders. #‎BlackLivesMatter BLMUK said it wanted to commemorate the fifth anniversary of the death of Mark Duggan, who was shot by police attempting to arrest him in Tottenham, north London, in August 2011, sparking nationwide riots. The group called for a "nationwide shutdown" in a post on social media, and its Friday morning protests resulted in a number of arrests.

The activists said they had shut roads in London, Birmingham, Manchester and Nottingham to "mourn those who have died in custody and to protest the ongoing racist violence of the police, border enforcement, structural inequalities and the everyday indignity of street racism". Pictures posted on Twitter showed protesters lying in a row across the M4 slip road to Heathrow beneath a banner which said: "This is a crisis." Video footage showed police officers hunkering down next to the protesters, while chants of "black lives matter" could be heard as some people got out of their vehicles, which were bumper-to-bumper on the road into one of the world's busiest airports.

Black Lives Matter protests in England Fri, August 5, 2016 Black Lives Matter protests in England have cased travel chaos all around the country. Play slideshow PA 1 of 12 Activists outside Nottingham Theatre Royal shut down part of the city centre to protest for social justice movement Black Lives Matter.