Fears over protests by eco-warriors

THE Capital is braced for a series of protests from eco-warriors at the height of its festival season.

Businesses in the city have been warned that a week-long "climate camp" could spell disruption to trade, and they have been urged to draw up plans in case violence flares on the scale seen in the run-up to the G8 Summit in 2005.

Police chiefs have held talks with senior figures within Edinburgh over the planned protests, which will see demonstrators gather at four locations in the city centre at noon on Thursday - Edinburgh Castle, St Andrew Square, Bristo Square and Duddingston Loch - where they will be given campsite details.

The Royal Bank of Scotland is to be the main target of the protest amid claims it is financing companies that harm the environment.

Coal and oil companies as well as other financial sector firms could also be targeted, say senior police officers.

Graham Birse, deputy chief executive of Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce, said: "The police are being extremely vigilant about this. This group would appear to have a track record of causing trouble."