Coal protest woman: My children helped me be stronger eco-warrior

A Greenpeace activist who jumped in front of a coal freighter and led a protest on top of the Houses of Parliament says her children give her strength to do her work.

Emma Gibson was one of 54 climate change campaigners who scaled Parliament this month. She spent 28 hours on the roof and another day at Charing Cross police station. Ms Gibson insists having a family is what spurs her on.

The 40-year-old, who has two-year-old twins Frank and Soren and a six-year-old daughter Rosa, said motherhood was "excellent training".

Ms Gibson, who lives with her husband Steve Wheeler in Whitstable, Kent, said: "Having twins changed me enormously. Physically and emotionally it was a very difficult experience. I felt that if I could survive twins, then I could survive anything."

Ms Gibson has worked as a Greenpeace campaigner for 14 years.

The most risky of her many stunts was jumping in the path of a coal freighter on the Medway in June to stop it delivering to Kingsnorth power station in Kent.

Her husband gave up his lecturing job to look after their children.