ECO warriors from the South Ribble are at the centre of the latest protest aimed at stopping the development of Manchester Airport.

Three environmentalists, from the Bamber Bridge area, are currently living inside Arthur's Wood, one of three forests still to be felled to make way for Manchester Airport's new runway.

Bailiffs arrived at the campsite on Monday, ready to evict around 40 campaigners, who have built a complex network of treehouses and pathways linking between the tall trees.

A series of deep tunnels has also been built in a bid to make the bailiffs' job as difficult as possible.

The latest battle comes nearly two years after another Preston man, known only as Storming Norman, took part in the largest clash between the authorities and the campaigners at a location near Styal in Cheshire.

But little is known about the latest local trio currently in the thick of the action, apart from where they are from and the fact they met while studying at college.

A friend of the protesters, who said his name was Yo-Yo, said: "Like us all, they are ardent activists and care deeply for the environment.

"We are prepared and are currently inside our tree houses and in tunnels. One of our three woods has already been cleared but the two remaining, Cedar's Wood and Arthur's Wood, are much more fortified.

"We won't give up without a fight. We will then move to another site."

The protesters' campaign has already won the support of people like Terry Waite, who says the world will wake up one day and realise they were right.

Several of the female protesters have stripped, in a bid to keep the Under Sheriff of Cheshire, Randall Hibbert, at bay. One activist, 24-year-old Fungus, is demanding a female bailiff evicts her or else she will call for a charge of sexual harassment.

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