Two people have been charged in connection with an incident at Stonehenge when an orange substance was thrown at the ancient monoliths, police have said.

Rajan Naidu, 73, of Birmingham, and Niamh Lynch, 22, of Bedford, have been charged with destroying or damaging an ancient protected monument and intentionally or recklessly causing a public nuisance.

The pair were bailed to appear at Salisbury magistrates court on 13 December, Wiltshire police said.

The alleged incident occurred during a protest by the environmental activists Just Stop Oil in mid-June as thousands of druids and revellers prepared to travel to the world-renowned monument for the summer solstice.

Sophie Stevens, deputy chief crown prosecutor for CPS Wessex, said: “The Crown Prosecution Service has authorised Wiltshire police to charge Rajan Naidu and Niamh Lynch with offences related to damage caused to the protected monument Stonehenge on 19 June.

“I would like to remind all concerned that there are active criminal proceedings against these individuals, and they have the right to a fair trial. There must be no reporting, commentary or sharing of information online that may in any way prejudice these proceedings.”

After the protest, English Heritage said experts had quickly removed the orange powder from the stones, the first of which were put in place around 3000BC.

In a statement released at the time, Just Stop Oil said it was time for “megalithic action” and called for the next UK government to agree a plan to stop the extraction and burning of oil, gas and coal by 2030.