A Chipping Norton man is among 14 Greenpeace activists to have been charged with piracy by the Russians in Murmansk.

Phil Ball was part of a 30-strong crew on a ship belonging to the charity which was protesting against oil drilling in the Arctic.

As reported in the Oxford Mail, the crew was arrested in September after two of the activists tried to board an oil platform owned by the Russian energy company Gazprom.

A total of 14 members were charged with piracy by an organised group, which carries a potential 15-year prison sentence in the country.