Scuffles as Cuadrilla work begins

Scuffles broke out between anti-fracking protesters and police after energy company Cuadrilla finally started exploratory drilling in the English countryside.

Two people, a 19-year-old woman and a man, were arrested on suspicion of assaulting police as tensions continued to run high near Balcombe, West Sussex.

Activists from across the UK have descended on the outskirts of the tiny village which has become a national focal point for the campaign against hydraulic fracturing, or fracking.

Protests have caused delays to Cuadrilla's plans to drill a 3,000ft vertical well in a project lasting up to three months, but work has finally gotten under way. Although the energy firm has said it has no plans to use the controversial method of fracking, villagers fear it will at some point in the future. UD

Vanessa Vine, of Frack Free Sussex, said: "I'm absolutely livid and incredulous. This is a violation of our geology that could threaten our water, fresh air and our children.

"I cannot comprehend why the people in Government who are supposedly responsible for protecting the people have not only allowed this, but forced this through. There is a political mania around this. I have no faith in our governmental process, and I feel like Balcombe is sacrificial."

Kathryn McWhirter, of No Fracking in Balcombe Society (NoFiBS), said: "It is of huge national importance that we all stand up against this dangerous coalition of the petro-chemical industry with our Government."

Brenda Pollack, of Friends of the Earth, said claims of the potential benefits of shale gas and oil, such as cheaper energy bills, have been over-inflated. She said: "If the Government continues to give its backing to shale gas and oil, communities across the UK will find themselves in the firing line.

Fracking involves high pressure liquid being pumped deep underground to split shale rock and release gas supplies. Opponents of the method have highlighted concerns about potential water contamination and environmental damage, as well as small-scale earthquakes.

But this week Cuadrilla's chief executive, Francis Egan, tried to soothe concerns by saying his firm has "no intention of ruining the countryside and won't ruin the countryside".