A petition has been launched to try and save a German Just Stop Oil protester from being deported.

Marcus Decker was jailed for two years and seven months after climbing the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge in Dartford.

The protests caused gridlock along the M25 after police were forced to close the crossing for around 42 hours.

In April, Decker and Morgan Trowland, 40, were both sentenced at Southend Crown Court.

They were previously found guilty by a unanimous verdict of causing a public nuisance at Basildon Crown Court.

Decker’s partner, Holly Cullen-Davis, has now set up a petition on Change.org to prevent the 34-year-old from being sent back to Germany by the Home Office.

On the page she says that they have been together for three years and share a “joint passion for music and for protecting our planet”.

It reads: “It isn't easy for Marcus in prison and it is desperately sad for my family.

“We miss him every day.

“The prison banned Marcus from speaking to the media making it even more difficult for him to speak about the reasons for his protest.”

The UK Borders Act 2007 allows for the automatic deportation of “foreign criminals”.

This is anyone who is not a British citizen and has been sentenced to 12 months or more in prison.

Ms Cullen-Davis goes on to say: “This double punishment is devastating for us.

“If deported, he would be separated from us, his family, his home, community and adopted country.

“Marcus has already been separated from us for seven months and now he might never come home again.

“Marcus put his own liberty and body on the line for those suffering from the climate crisis.

“But he is more than just an activist – anyone that knows Marcus knows he is a gentle, thoughtful and compassionate human being who would only act proportionately to the crisis we all face.

‘If deported, he would be separated from us, his family, his home, community and adopted country.’

“This is the man that I love. A man who sang my children to sleep at night.”

His partner adds that if a letter is sent from the Home Office, they will have 20 days to appeal to deportation decision.

So far more than 44,000 have signed the petition, which was launched on Sunday, June 4.

It aims to reach 50,000.