Star date: 18th April 2014

AS SALFORD ANTI FRACKING CAMP CLEANS UP, IT'S UP FOR LOCAL HERO AWARD

As the Barton Moss Community Protection Camp moves on from Salford over Easter it's been nominated for the Observer Ethical Awards 2014 in the Local Hero category and is believed to be through to the finals.

It's ironic as one of the local heroes, Kate, who has been well involved with peaceful action at Barton Moss, will spend Easter in a Birmingham jail on remand as a `political prisoner' after breaching bail to go back to the Camp to clean up...

Full details here...

Yesterday at Barton Moss, environmentalists were tidying up the site of the Community Protection Camp site, determined to leave it in a better state than when they arrived.

82 year old Anne Power was busy undoing the straw bales that have shielded the Camp from the Shakespearian winter. It was, she agreed, a massive change from waving her stick in the face of Greater Manchester Police riot squads. Others were raking the soil, burning wood and packing up, promising to be back in September when `unconventional energy' company IGas is also set to return.

Meanwhile, the Barton Moss Community Protection Camp has been nominated for the Observer Ethical Awards 2014 in the Local Hero category, and is believed to be through to the last five.

The Observer states that the category is to `give local heroes the recognition they deserve'…

"Who has worked tirelessly to conserve their local or global environment?" it asks "Who has galvanised or inspired their community toward change? From campaigners to conservationists, we're looking for those hard-working volunteers who strive to build a better nation for all of us. Who has been leading the way to protect your neighbourhood and to enhance your standard of living?" (for more details click here)

Frack Free Greater Manchester yesterday issued a statement that it "is very pleased that the courage, resilience and peaceful nature of the campaign against IGas' test drilling on Barton Moss has been recognised by the judges of this prestigious award".

Irlam's Jackie Anderson, a local supporter of the Camp added: "It's an incredible honour for the Camp to be nominated as they represent the epitome of local heroism in an ethical manner. The continual focus on a peaceful campaign to bring attention, support and debate to the plight of the local residents living close to the Barton Moss site has been inspiring and overwhelmingly life changing.

"The Camp have campaigned over the winter months on a daily basis" she explained "working alongside the local community without recourse to violence to protect our beautiful land and our way of life here on the Moss to stop our land from being destroyed."

Local protector Darren Nesbit, who has defined the campaign in song, said "Nobody's doing this for any award or recognition. When it's all over we'll party like the world has just begun, which in effect it will have. But until then, there's too much work to do."

Over Easter, one of the first things the Camp will be trying to do is to free Kate, who has been sent to a Birmingham prison on remand despite being based in Salford.

Kate has been involved in lock-ons and peaceful direct action at Barton Moss and a judge has sent him to jail until 29th April for breaching bail by going back to the Camp to help clean it up. The Salford Star understands that legal support and human rights organisation Green and Black Cross is listing Kate as a political prisoner...

* There's a Free Kate McCann Vigil on Sunday at 1:00pm
HMP Birmingham Prison, Winson Green Road, Birmingham B18 4AS

For further details click here