Operation underway to remove HS2 protesters from site in Staffordshire
Police and enforcement officers are at the scene in Swynnerton
Last updated 10th May 2022
An operation's underway to remove HS2 protesters from a site in Staffordshire where they've been camping out for months.
Staffordshire Police officers are also at the scene of the site in Swynnerton, near Stone where the proposed high-speed rail line is expected to pass through when built.
One campaigner - who didn't want to be named - joined the protest today and told us: "You're sometimes able to prevent some of the work going ahead as planned, but it's only ever a delay, and that's getting pretty hard now.
"It's just unbelievable that they can do it. Woodlands that have taken hundreds and hundreds of years to form and to be considered 'ancient woodlands', and they can just come and rip it out in a day."
A spokesperson for HS2 Ltd says: “In the interest of the safety of the public, emergency services, HS2 staff and the activists themselves, we urge those who are unlawfully encamped on the Cash’s Pit land to obey the High Court Possession Order and leave immediately.
“The construction of HS2 is playing a vital role in Britain’s economic recovery from the pandemic, with over 22,000 people already working on the project and tens of thousands of additional jobs supported through our supply chain. Anyone who cares about our natural environment ought to support a project that is providing work across the UK today, and in the future will get people out of cars, off planes and onto zero carbon rail travel.”