Activists gathered today outside the headquarters of energy company Centrica in Windsor to protest the company’s investment in fracking firm Cuadrilla.

A group of around 50 protesters from Reclaim the Power and charity Fuel Poverty Action gathered outside the company’s main gates to peacefully protest. The group assembled a four-metre-tall crane to replicate the fracking process and filled a pipe leading to the crane with fake money.

The protest in Windsor is part of two days of national action, with further demonstrations taking place in Cambridge and Bristol.

Joanne Randall, member of Reclaim the Power, said: “For six years, alongside many others, we have successfully fought fracking companies, like Cuadrilla, who are polluting local communities and ignoring the force of democratic opinion against them.

“We take this action today to highlight the crucial role Centrica play in funding fracking, locking us into fossil fuel dependency and climate breakdown. We need to move away from the cartel of the big-six and move towards community-owned renewable energy.”

Robert Noyes, from charity Fuel Poverty Action who were supporting the protest, added: “As we come to the end of one of the coldest months of the year, millions of families around the UK are forced to choose between heating and eating, as energy bills continue to rise. Last year, while British Gas upped their prices by 5.5%, their owners Centrica pumped $16Mn into expensive fracking operations.

“It is clear - fracking will not bring down the bills. We urgently need clean, affordable and publicly-owned energy in warm, well-insulated homes, an immediate end to fracking, and a just transition away from fossil gas that puts workers in polluting industries at the centre of the conversation.”

A Centrica spokesman commented: “Everyone has a right to express their views and we respect their right to demonstrate peacefully.

“The development of natural gas from shale has a potentially important role to play in securing gas supplies for the UK. As the UK’s largest energy supplier, we believe Centrica has a duty to explore the potential of natural gas from shale to provide safe, secure energy to millions of homes and businesses.”