Campaigners are going on the offensive against plans for two new nuclear reactors on the Suffolk coast - saying “it’s not too late to Stop Sizewell C”.

The new advertising campaign is launched today by Stop Sizewell C, part of a fight-back to highlight the reasons it claims why the £20billion power project should be opposed.

The campaign will include a touring digital “Advan” visiting tourism and leisure hotspots on the Suffolk coast between 10am and 6pm with striking and colourful imagery by award-winning advertising creative Antony Easton and featuring the voices of residents and campaigners, including Bill Nighy, Diana Quick, Bill Turnbull and Charlie Haylock.

%image(15130539, type="article-full", alt="Dialect specialist and author, Charlie Haylock, was behind the brilliant Suffolk accents in The Dig.")

New roadside boards will be on display along the B1122 in Theberton and Middleton, a flag is flying from the tower of Theberton Church, and leaflets will be delivered to 17,500 households this week and distributed via local hospitality outlets and rural businesses.

Alison Downes, of Stop Sizewell C, said the campaign was a wake-up call for everyone who thinks Sizewell C is a done deal.

She said: "It doesn’t have planning consent and there is no sign of guaranteed funding; indeed increasing numbers of UK asset managers don’t plan on investing."

She added that while Sizewell B is forced to stay shut for repairs, renewables are delivering faster and cheaper energy, proving there is a better alternative to Sizewell C, one that is more affordable, greener and better.

%image(14452825, type="article-full", alt="How Sizewell C with its twin reactors could look alongside plants A and B on Suffolk's coast")

Suffolk historian, author and dialect specialist Charlie Haylock, said: "My late father grew up around Leiston and It breaks my heart to think of the damage that building Sizewell C’s two huge nuclear reactors would do to this most beautiful and wildlife-rich part of the country."

Dr Andy Wood, chief executive of Adnams plc, said: "We're pleased to support this campaign as Adnams believes the impacts of Sizewell C would be considerable and we are keen to make sure they are understood by everyone who knows and loves this area."

%image(14452968, type="article-full", alt="Andy Wood, chief executive of Adnams Picture: ADNAMS")

Thorpeness resident Antony Easton put together the strategy with Stop Sizewell C based around the concept that there are more reasons to oppose Sizewell C than to support it.

He said: “That’s why the multi-page mail drop concertina idea was created, it presents several reasonable arguments at once. It’s not a black and white issue but it doesn’t take much unpicking to see why, one, it should take place in such a vulnerable and infrastructurally weak area and two, that it should take place at all.”

%image(14548481, type="article-full", alt="Diana Quick on Sizewell C: It all seems to me an unnecessary, costly and dangerous way of generating electricity at a time when there are all sorts of exciting alternatives." Picture: SARAH LUCY BROWN")

EDF Energy says Sizewell C is vital for the country's future energy needs but would form part of a mix of different types of power generation. Its plans are currently going through the examination stage of a Development Consent Order application and the company is currently in discussions with government over funding options.