EDINBURGH, Scotland -- Anti-nuclear protestors, backed by James Bond star Sean Connery, tried to bring Britain's main Trident nuclear submarine plant to a standstill on Monday.

Demonstrators blocked the entrance of the plant, taking direct action against nuclear installations and equipment involved at the Trident system.

Sean Connery, who could not attend the demonstration at the Faslane base in person, gave his backing for the Trident Ploughshares campaign.

Connery told former Scottish National Party head Alex Salmond: "I cannot be with you in person because of filming commitments. But be assured that I am with you in spirit and give you best wishes for your demonstration and your just cause."

Organisers of the protest, which began at dawn, hope that hundreds of supporters from across Britain and Europe will unite for the demonstrations.

Strathclyde police said they had arrested 40 men and 19 women out of a group of around 200 protesters at base's north gate.

Some protestors had strapped themselves at the top of large scaffolding tripods to make it more difficult to remove them.

The naval base on the west coast of Scotland is home to four of Britain's nuclear submarines, which Ploughshares argue are illegal because they cannot distinguish between military and civilian targets.

At a similar protest last year, more than 180 people including nuns and Japanese monks were arrested.

Reuters contributed to this report.