A former holiday camp climbing instructor brought a Midlands fracking site to a standstill yesterday by scaling a huge drill under cover of darkness.

The environmental activist, named only as Will, slipped past security guards at 5.30am before climbing atop the rig, attaching a “no fracking” banner and staying put for over nine hours.

Friends from a nearby protest camp had distracted security guards by throwing an all-night party.

He was able to scale the monster structure with experienced gained while living for over four years in a treetop protest camp — and teaching families how to climb at a Pontins holiday camp on the Isle of Wight.

The action succeeded in stopping the drills at the Daneshill site in Nottinghamshire for the whole day.

It is operated by Dart Energy — one of Britain’s three major fracking companies.

Sandwiches were sent up to the protestor in a bid to coax him down.

But Will ended his occupation voluntarily at around 1.30pm and was arrested by Nottinghamshire police.

Speaking to the Star before leaving his protest perch, Will described the strength of feeling among local residents over the fracking site.

“The locals are just so angry about what’s happening,” he said.

“They’re worried about house prices, insurance and the threat of this going from test drilling to a full scale operation.

Will had lived at the permanent Daneshill protest camp for a month before yesterday’s protest, along with his pet dog.

He said he hoped the police would allow him to “say goodbye to my dog” before being taken away for questioning.

“My dog is with all my friends at the gates,” he added.

“I’m tired, I want to go home,”

The protest came days after the International Panel on Climate Change issued dire warnings over continued reliance on fossil fuels.

“Billions of pounds will be spent on building the infrastructure for this dash for dirty gas — which will lock us into another generation of fossil fuel use,” said Frack Off spokesman Pete Kennedy.

“This money would be much better spent on leading the clean, green energy revolution that we desperately need.”