A NUCLEAR arms factory was forced to abandon expansion work yesterday after peace activists blocked its entrance.

Anti-nuclear activists stopped traffic from accessing the Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE) site in Burghfield, Berkshire.

The Action AWE protesters lay down on the road for over four hours, preventing several trucks with building materials from entering the factory.

They had been locked to each other through arm tubes since 7am. 

None of the activists were arrested. 

Hannah Brock, who was among those blocking the road, said she could not “stand by while the British government gives itself the power to murder millions, into the next generation.”

AWE Burghfield site is where the final assembly of warheads — the toxic or explosive material inside missiles — takes place.

A new assembling facility is now being built under the £500 million Project Mensa. 

Action AWE and supporters of the Campaign Against Nuclear Disarmament argue that constructions should come to an immediate halt as the government is yet to review Trident. 

Protester Joanna Frew said: “Trident is illegal, immoral and a waste of money.

“We have a real opportunity over the next year to say that it is no longer acceptable and that we don’t want an illegal renewal.”

London-based activist Andrew Dey said the protest had succeeded in disrupting work at the site. 

He told the Star: “When we left the main gate even half an hour later there were still long queues of construction vehicles waiting to enter the base.

But he added that leaflets handed out to workers make clear that cutting Trident should not mean cutting their jobs. 

“We’re not calling for the Burghfield and Aldermaston bases to be shut down,” he said. 

“We’re calling for them to stop working on nuclear proliferation. Those bases can be used for disarmament purposes.”

Burghfield is linked to AWE’s more famous base Aldermaston and occupies 225 acres of land.