Coal plant protesters injured in skirmishes with police

by Paul Conneally | August 10, 2008 at 05:36 am

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As a police helicopter circles warning that unless protesters disperse "police horses, dogs and batons will be used" the huge sound system starts playing 'I've been loving you too long' the pained and wonderful voice of Otis Redding cutting through through the chopper's noise. It's the continuing climate camp protest at Kingsnorth with the weekend family carnival feel to the protest been undercut by the threat of police violence. The protesters are not looking for violence just action on the proposed coal fired power station that they bitterly oppose. This story will not go away and is the biggest protest camp in the UK for many years and is slowly starting to gather momentum towards the kind of media coverage that the Newbury Bypass protest with its hero Swampy had some years ago. The call on China and the developing world not to burn coal seems hollow when the UK is itself proposing to do so a be it with what is claimed to be 'clean burn' coal fired stations.

Protesters battled with police yesterday but failed to shut down Kingsnorth coal plant as the climax of the week-long climate camp ended with a series of skirmishes.

Only a handful of protesters succeeded in getting inside the site near Rochester, Kent. Around 50 were arrested, bringing the total for the week to more than 90.

Climate camp organisers said last night that about 1,500 people took part in the day of direct action and marches. They were matched by nearly 1,500 police officers. The only serious scuffles came when a group of 70 people tried to go into a cornfield. They were met by 100 police, some of whom used batons. Several people were injured.

Police also used horses, dogs, trail bikes and helicopters to control demonstrators as they approached the power station across fields and down country lanes.

Environmentalists are targeting Kingsnorth because they claim the new plant planned there by its owner, the German energy group E.on - the first for nearly 30 years - will usher in six more and make it almost impossible for the UK to meet its carbon emissions targets.