Protesters stage a 'slow walk' at Kirby Misperton fracking site

A 'slow walk' protest took place at Kirby Misperton this afternoon as protesters walked in front of trucks leaving the hydraulic fracturing site.

Five members of the protest campaign walked in the road in front of three vehicles as they left the site, along Habton Road, from 12.50pm to 1.10pm.Police liaison officers from North Yorkshire Police were present to make sure local traffic was able to pass by the scene of the protest and after 20 minutes, the vehicles continued on their way.North Yorkshire Police says it has adopted a ‘neighbourhood policing’ approach to the protests at Kirby Misperton, working with people on all sides of the issue, including protesters and the local community.Supt Alisdair Dey, of North Yorkshire Police, said: “Throughout this operation we've been balancing the needs and wishes of everyone at Kirby Misperton, minimising disruption to the local community and ensuring protests are peaceful and safe.“We respond proportionately to any protest activity, so whenever possible we reduce the number of officers at Kirby Misperton, and redeploy them to policing duties elsewhere in North Yorkshire.”