Anti-fracking campaigners from the Barton Moss Community Protection Camp this lunchtime `locked on' to petrol pumps at a Total garage in Bolton, as a protest against the giant French energy company investing in the practice in the UK, while it's banned in France.
Four protectors attached themselves to filling pumps at the Total garage in Rishton Lane in Bolton at around 1pm today and, at 2:30pm emergency services were still trying to free them.
Support for the action is flooding in on Facebook sites…
"Lock on step on Total man, hit 'em where it hurts, their pockets publicity applaud the 4 courageous human beings" wrote Jane, while Jamie wrote "I've gotta give it to these guys, this is brilliant, keep doing what you're doing hopefully good will come out of it. Big thumbs up to you all", and Steve wrote "Obstruction of a huge multinational Corporation in its greedy profiteering".
A statement from Frack Free Greater Manchester this afternoon added: "A Total petrol station in Bolton has been closed down today
by around 30 anti-fracking protesters in response to the French company’s recent
announcement to invest £30 million into UK shale gas extraction. Four
individuals have attached themselves to the petrol pumps using superglue and
bike D-locks. Other protests have taken place at Total Garages in Blackpool and
Brighton.
One of the protesters Kerry Johnson, 38 from Bolton said,
“Fracking is banned in France but Total think it’s okay to extract profits from
shale gas in this country instead. Just like Cuadrilla and IGas, Total’s
investors should know they’re in for a rough ride.”
Another protester at the Total forecourt, John Bingham from
Salford said, “Fracking is a huge threat to the health of local communities and
will exacerbate global warming. If we’re serious about stopping climate change
we need to keep existing fossil fuels in the ground and move to renewable energy
systems.”
This week, Total announced it had bought a 40% stake in two
shale gas exploration licenses in the UK with Dart Energy, Egdon Resources and
IGas. It is one of the first major oil companies in to put money into shale gas
in the UK."
Photos by Nicola
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