The 48-year-old actress was taking part in a protest against mountaintop coalmining – which sees the tops of mountains blown away to help miners get at deposits inside – during which a West Virginia road was blocked yesterday.

Daryl – who is a long-term environmental activist – and 30 other people blocked traffic by sitting on a stretch of road outside a Massey Energy Company plant, prompting police to intervene.

State Police Sergeant Michael Baylous said: “Tensions were pretty high. But nobody got hurt and we're pleased with that.”

The protestors were cited for impeding traffic and obstructing an officer and released.

Speaking about the mining practice before she was arrested, Daryl said: “It's not necessary. If you do it wisely, there are ways to use renewables. It's realistic for everybody.”

The group had originally planned to stage a protest inside the plant, but miners stopped them from gaining access to the site.

This is not the first time Daryl’s beliefs have got her in trouble with the law.

In 2006, she was arrested after climbing into a walnut tree in an effort to stop an urban garden being destroyed to make way for a warehouse.

Speaking from the tree, Daryl said: “I’m very confident this is the morally right thing to do, to take a principled stand in solidarity with the farmers.”