Stonehenge Just Stop Oil paint-sprayers named as Oxford student, 21, and Quaker, 73

The image shows two protesters at Stonehenge spraying orange powder or paint onto the ancient stone monuments. Large clouds of bright orange substance billow around the massive stone trilithons as the activists carry out their environmental protest action. The historic stone circle is visible in the background under an overcast sky. — The incident sparked outrage this week

Just Stop Oil protesters who sprayed Stonehenge with orange-coloured corn and paint flour, causing fury across the UK, have been named.

The activists were caught on camera rushing towards the ancient monument in Wiltshire wearing white t-shirt with the campaign group's logo. As people yelled at them to stop, they unleashed canisters of orange substances as several of the ancient stones were covered in the bright colour.

The two protesters were unveiled as Rajan Naidu, 73, and Niamh Lynch, 21. Naidu is believed to be a Quaker from Birmingham while the younger campaigner is a youth representative at the British Trust for Ornithology and an officer from the Oxford University's Nature Conservation Society.

Wiltshire Police have today revealed the arrested pair were released on bail. They said in a statement: "This is to allow us additional time to work with specialists and progress our inquiries. A man in his 70s and a woman in her 20s were arrested on suspicion of criminal damage, damaging an ancient monument and deterring a person from engaging in a lawful activity. It follows reports that an orange substance had been sprayed on some of the stones by two suspects."

The image shows Stonehenge's ancient stone circle with bright orange paint splattered across several of the massive sarsen stones. Two protesters are sitting on the grass in front of the painted monument. The prehistoric stone structure stands against a cloudy sky, with its iconic trilithons clearly visible despite the orange paint covering portions of the stones. — Paint was sprayed on the ancient monument

English Heritage chief executive Dr Nick Merriman said this morning there does not appear to be "visible damage" to Stonehenge. "It's difficult to understand and we're deeply saddened about this vandalism," Dr Merriman told BBC Radio 4's Today Programme. "Our experts have already managed to clean the orange powder from the stones because we were really worried about what would happen if they got in contact with water. So far, there seems to be no visible damage."

A Just Stop Oil spokesperson explained the group is "demanding that our next government sign up to a legally binding treaty to phase out fossil fuels by 2030." The group warned that continuing to burn fossil fuels will result in the death of millions.