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Bristol City Council acts to remove tree-top bus protesters | Bristol City Council acts to remove tree-top bus protesters |
(35 minutes later) | |
Action to evict a group of tree-top protesters in Bristol has been started by the city council. | |
Campaigners for the Rising Up group are unhappy about a proposed new bus route and have been perched in the trees at Stapleton Allotments for over a month. | Campaigners for the Rising Up group are unhappy about a proposed new bus route and have been perched in the trees at Stapleton Allotments for over a month. |
Bristol City Council said "security specialists" had started to remove protesters at about 07:40 GMT. | Bristol City Council said "security specialists" had started to remove protesters at about 07:40 GMT. |
Jennifer Harrison, who has been occupying a tree for 40 days, said she was "not going to walk off site". | |
"I'm looking down watching people try to physically tug someone along the ground and watching them dismantle our community," she added. | |
"And watching, yet again, the powers-that-be disregard the wants and desires of the local community. | |
"I am peacefully occupied, I will not resist in anyway but I'm also not going to walk off site." | |
'Peaceful and democratic protest' | 'Peaceful and democratic protest' |
A council spokesman said the action followed "several attempts" to resolve the protest and for protestors to leave willingly. | |
Peter Mann, Bristol City Council's service director for transport said: "Our top priority is to safely and effectively bring a resolution to this protest. | Peter Mann, Bristol City Council's service director for transport said: "Our top priority is to safely and effectively bring a resolution to this protest. |
"We have engaged professional, experienced security experts to help protestors leave the site safely. | "We have engaged professional, experienced security experts to help protestors leave the site safely. |
"We respect people's right to peaceful and democratic protest but that cannot extend to the illegal occupation of someone else's land. | "We respect people's right to peaceful and democratic protest but that cannot extend to the illegal occupation of someone else's land. |
"Today's actions follow several opportunities for the protesters to leave voluntarily and even today they are being offered the opportunity to leave of their own accord." | |
Mr Mann said he hoped the process would be over "in a couple of hours". |