ACTIVISTS heading to court in Italy today could face fines of up to €240,000 (£220,100) for their actions against a controversial fossil-fuel pipeline.

The Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP), the final piece of a 2,200-mile project stretching from Azerbaijan to Italy known as the Southern Gas Corridor, was awarded the biggest-ever European Investment Bank loan – £1.3bn of public money – in 2018.

The environmental group NoTAP Movement, based in the southern region of Salento, the heel of Italy's boot and where the pipeline emerges, has been protesting against the multi-billion-Euro project since 2012.