PR disaster for Police – 85 year old woman dragged across busy road by Police at Preston New Rd.

Frances Perraudin North of England reporter

Tuesday 10 October 2017 17.16 BSTLast modified on Tuesday 10 October 201722.00 BST

A 79-year-old woman who set up a tea and cake stall at the site of an anti-fracking protest in North Yorkshire has been forcibly removed by police.

Jackie Brookes had been providing activists and police stationed at a long-running anti-fracking camp in Kirby Misperton with refreshments for the past month.

On Monday, she accused the police of “bullying tactics” after she was escorted from the site by officers who cited health and safety concerns.

Third Energy, the gas exploration company, says it expects to begin fracking on the outskirts of the village before the end of the year, and started moving equipment on to the site on 19 September.

Since then protesters have attempted to stop the company delivering its equipment. Twenty-nine people have been arrested so far, 24 of whom have been charged with various offences.

North Yorkshire police said Brookes was among a group of people to be moved owing to fears that a 3-metre-high tower built by a protester from wooden pallets might collapse and injure them.

County council officials decided that the structure – where a protester known as Eddie had been sitting for nearly 24 hours – was unsafe and police started removing it on Monday.

In a statement issued by the Kirby Misperton protection camp, Brookes said: “I thought it was petty bullying, telling us that we could be crushed by that tower when we know darn well it’s as strong as it can be.

“Eddie wouldn’t be up there if he thought it was going to fall down. So it’s just another way of pushing us around, it’s bullying tactics.”

Supt Lindsey Robson of North Yorkshire police said the force had a duty to ensure the safety of everyone involved in protests at Kirby Misperton.

“Officers had to move several people away from a tower of pallets [on Monday] morning, after we received advice from the local authority that it may not be safe,” she said.

“While some people were unhappy, we spoke to them and asked them to move for their own safety, which they did. We will always act to protect people from harm.”