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Viewers of David Attenborough's new BBC documentary were moved to tears over the heartbreaking battle between an orangutan and a bulldozer sent to destroy its home.

Climate Change: The Facts told how the soaring demand for palm oil was leading to large scale deforestation with large areas of rainforest being ripped down and replaced with palm oil plantations.

Cameras captured the moment a desperate orangutan tried to shove a bulldozer as it tore down trees in its path.

The animal was seen desperately trying to beat the machine away before fleeing the area.

(Image: BBC) (Image: BBC)

Viewers at home were left devastated by the beast's plight, describing the scenes as 'truly heartbreaking.'

"This infuriates me, stop destroying their home," said one.

"How dare they do that to the Orangutan in its home land. Absolutely disgusting," fumed another.

"That orangutan fighting the digger was one of the saddest things I've ever seen," a third commented.

Throughout the documentary, Sir David and his team of experts aimed to highlight the damaging effects climate change is having on the planet.

(Image: BBC)

They showed vast areas of rainforests being cleared and burned to be replaced with palm oil plantations - as consumer demand for the product increases.

Palm oil is found in many household products from soap to shampoo to crisps.

Scientists on the BBC programme explained that when centuries old forest are torn down releasing CO2 into the atmosphere, the planet heats up at anaccelerated speed.

"The consequences will get progressively worse," warned Sir David.

The hour long documentary is part of the Our Planet Matters season on the BBC.