Activists hide out at nuclear sites

They were part of a 22-strong group which broke the chains of an outer gate and cycled into the Ringhals reactor site in the south-west of the country on Tuesday morning.

Another 50 used ladders to scale the perimeter fences of the Forsmark site on the eastern coast, where most were arrested soon after their illegal entry.

Campaigner Lauri Myllyvirta said he had spent all night on the roof of the Ringhals plant with three other activists and were only discovered when Greenpeace Sweden decided to tell the media they were there.

Environmental group Greenpeace said it carried out the trespass to highlight the danger lax security posed to the more than 1.3 million people living within 75 kilometres (47 miles) of the sites.

Their "stress test" came in response to an EU report last week showing massive safety shortcomings at almost all of the 134 nuclear reactors in Europe.

"The lack of safety was proven already by the EU stress tests but they didn't test for people to get in illegally, which should have been included," Greenpeace spokeswoman Birgitte Lesanner said.

Greenpeace said two activists were still at large today in the grounds of the Fosmark power station.

A fire broke out in a Ringhals reactor last year after staff had left a vacuum cleaner in the containment building.