Green campaigner injured in tuna fishing raid

A British environmentalist was injured during a raid on tuna fishing boats when a grappling hook stuck in his leg, Greenpeace said today.

Frank Hewetson from London is recovering in hospital after the charity ambushed a French fishing boat in the Mediterranean yesterday.

Oliver Knowles from Greenpeace said the protesters were met with an "extremely violent reaction" from the fishermen, and a number of activists were injured.

In a video released by the charity he said: "It's clear that the blue fin tuna in the Mediterranean is a massively over-fished species, already 80% of it fished out, and what has happened here this afternoon in the water around us is that commercial interest has won out over the need to preserve a species."

Greenpeace used two inflatable craft to try to collapse one side of the fishermen's net to prevent them catching tuna.

A video of the incident shows the French crew driving a larger boat into the dinghies, sending one activist flying into the water.

Greenpeace said their inflatable boats were sunk when the fishermen slashed them.