A great-grandmother was forcibly moved from her tea table by police at a fracking site yesterday as a long-running protest by environmental groups intensified.
Former nurse Jackie Brookes, 79, has been serving tea and cake over the past month to protesters and police in Kirby Misperton, North Yorkshire, with her husband Jim.
But North Yorkshire Police told the tea lady she had to be moved over fears that she might be injured if a nearby 10ft-high tower made of wooden pallets collapsed.
Former nurse Jackie Brookes was told to move by police in Kirby Misperton, North Yorkshire
Mrs Brookes has been serving tea and homemade cake to anti-fracking protesters and police
This caused outrage among campaigners, who chanted ‘shame’ continuously. One said: ‘Move your men back commander, this is ridiculous. What are you trying to do?’
Another added: ‘She is not at risk’, while a third told police: ‘This is England, not 1930s Germany. What the hell do you think you’re doing? Shame on you.’
It came after a protester called ‘Eddie’ had been sitting on the tower for nearly a day, and the council arrived to assess its safety – before deciding it should be removed.
After people had been cleared, the 33-year-old man was removed and arrested on suspicion of causing a danger to road users and obstructing a police officer.
Mrs Brookes told Minster FM: ‘I thought it was petty bullying, telling us that we could be crushed by that tower when we know darn well it’s as strong as it can be.
‘Eddie wouldn’t be up there if he thought that it was going to fall down. So it’s just another way of pushing us around – it’s bullying tactics.
‘I saw something on the side of one of the police vans today, and I’ve adopted it: ‘Do something new, Do something extra, Do something special.”
The removal of Mrs Brookes outraged some campaigners, who chanted ‘shame’ continuously
North Yorkshire Police told her that she had to be moved over fears that she might be injured
North Yorkshire Police have previously faced accusations of mounting a ‘disproportionate’ and expensive show of strength at the site.
Up to 50 police officers at a time are dealing with the protest that has been prompted by the start of work to prepare for fracking at the Third Energy well.
One protester said on Facebook: ‘I popped up to Kirkby Misperton this morning to stand in solidarity for a couple of hours with all the lovely people up there.
‘I was having a chat and just about to get a cuppa from the wonderful Jackie (who) has been serving tea and homemade cake to the protesters and police alike for the last month.
‘All of a sudden a lot of police approached us demanding me and Jackie – and her table – immediately move further away from the ‘dangerous structure’ that was too far away to hit us, even if it had spontaneously fallen over in our direction.
‘I was ordered – farcically – to ‘step away from the picnic table’ – yes, really. When the indomitable Jackie refused to do exactly as she was told, the second she was ordered to; this is what happened next.’
Anti-fracking campaigner Leigh Coghill said the police action was ‘completely disproportionate’, adding: ‘The whole thing feels like a bit of a farce.’
The great-grandmother said after she was moved that she ‘thought it was petty bullying’
Police feared she would be injured if a nearby 10ft-high tower made of wooden pallets fell
She told the Yorkshire Post: ‘How have we come to this point where we have a great-grandmother who is serving tea and making breakfast being surrounded by police?’
Many of the protesters are pensioners who fear the controversial method of mining for gas and oil poses a threat to the beautiful and unspoilt rural area.
It involves injecting water, sand and chemicals at high pressure into rocks deep underground to open up fractures in the rock and release trapped supplies.
Superintendent Lindsey Robson, of North Yorkshire Police, said: ‘We have a duty to ensure the safety of everyone involved in protests at Kirby Misperton.
‘Officers had to move several people away from a tower of pallets this morning, after we received advice from the local authority that it may not be safe.
‘While some people were unhappy, we spoke to them and asked them to move for their own safety, which they did. We will always act to protect people from harm.’
Mrs Brooks was featured in the Daily Mail last month, when she said: ‘I don’t want this beautiful countryside poisoned by the chemicals they use.’
Mrs Brookes sits in a chair after the incident, which she felt was an example of ‘bullying tactics’
Mrs Brookes (left) has been serving tea and cake over the past month with husband Jim (right)
But John Dewar, of Third Energy, also said last month: ‘We look forward to running a safe and successful operation that will be carried out with minimal impact on local residents and the environment.’
Separately yesterday, police said they enabled a 20-minute peaceful protest to take place at the site with a convoy of lorries allowed to leave with no issues.
About 20 demonstrators were said to have sat and stood in the road in front of the entrance to the site, as four heavy goods vehicle waited to leave.
Also yesterday, Tory former Cabinet minister Lord Tebbit claimed opposition to fracking is ‘nimbyism and it needs to be put down’.
He warned if the authorities ‘were to give in’ to protesters opposed to the technique, then those campaigning against new housing developments ‘would be at it as well’.
The Conservative peer made his criticism during a question in the House of Lords on the additional policing costs generated by fracking.
Baroness Vere of Norbiton added: ‘If people were able to stay within the law, then maybe the taxpayer wouldn’t have to pay for all these additional policing costs.’