THE battle for Prospect Farm was expected to end today as

officials said they were within 8ft of protesters dug in

underground.

For almost two months, activists have barricaded themselves

inside the farmhouse in Smalley and burrowed into a tunnel in

their attempts to thwart the start of opencast coal mining at

the site.

Last night, two remained underground as bailiffs called a

temporary halt in their attempts to dig them out.

The pair's spirits would still be high, according to one

supporter at the site yesterday, himself a veteran of a similar

environmental campaign.

The man, who identified himself only as Ben, said he had

been involved in a similar stand-off with officials in

1999.

He said: "They will be loving it down there. They have been

in the tunnel since Thursday and it shows their commitment.

"I was in a protest tunnel in Rettendon, in Essex, for 40

days to campaign against the Outer London Orbital Road and I

thought it was great, a real adrenalin rush."

Ben said the two protesters in the tunnel – one male and one

female – had food and drink supplies and a compressor to

provide themselves with air.

He said: "When you are down there, it is a very small space

but it is your own little world almost. There were five people

in my tunnel and we all knew when the bailiffs were getting

closer because they were talking to us."

To ensure the safety of the protesters, bailiffs from the

National Eviction Team have had to delicately expand the

18in-diameter tunnel – which police said was 8ft long and went

10ft underground – to allow enough room for two people to be

brought out. The eviction process has involved bailiffs and

police reinforcing the tunnel walls with wood to prevent a

collapse, while slowly removing bucket after bucket of

soil.

The protesters are among a group opposed to the mining of

the site by UK Coal.

The company has Government clearance to mine for

four-and-a-half years, despite Derbyshire County Council having

refused to grant planning permission. The protesters have been

occupying the derelict Prospect Farm building for almost two

months in their attempt to prevent the start of mining at the

334-acre site this autumn.

However, a spokesman for UK Coal said bailiffs yesterday

evening believed they were only 6ft to 8ft away from the

remaining pair in the tunnel.

Chief Inspector Graham McLaughlin said two people were

arrested while trying to get into the farm on Saturday night

and a further two were arrested yesterday for climbing trees on

land covered by a High Court order. Seven trees have now been

uprooted by a 73-ton digger to prevent further climbers.

Seven campaigners were arrested during the first two days of

the eviction, which began on Thursday after UK Coal won a court

order to clear the protesters from its land.

UK Coal spokesman Stuart Oliver said the process of removing

the protesters was taking so long for safety reasons.

He said: "The safety of all those involved, from the

bailiffs to the protesters who have put themselves in this

dangerous situation, has remained the number one priority

throughout.

"It is a shame that their presence has led to the felling of

seven trees on the advice of police and the National Eviction

Team. It is disappointing that so-called ecologists have caused

this."

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