Freed fracking protester Simon Blevins in 'direct action' call

The three men left prison on Wednesday

A man who was freed from jail over protests at a fracking site has vowed "it's necessary to protest".

Simon Blevins and two other men were released on Wednesday after judges ruled their sentences were "excessive."

They had climbed on lorries outside the site in Preston New Road, Lancashire, in July 2017.

"If we want to stop fracking, we can't just write to our MPs anymore. We need to start taking direct action," Mr Blevins, of Sheffield, said.

"It's necessary to protest because the government isn't listening. We need to start making our voices heard."

Blevins, 26, and Richard Roberts, 36 and from London, were jailed for 16 months each and 31-year-old Rich Loizou, of Devon, received a 15-month custodial term over the protests, which lasted close to 100 hours.

Fracking started at Preston New Road last week

They were freed from jail after Court of Appeal judges ruled they should not have been jailed and imposed conditional discharges.

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The judgement was met by applause and singing from supporters in the court.

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A complaint against the original sentencing judge, the details of which are unknown, is being investigated.

"If we're a progressive society which values democracy, this shouldn't be happening," Blevins added.

"Everyone else inside (the prison) thought it was quite funny, they thought it was ridiculous."

As protests continued, fracking began at the site last week, the first operations in the UK since 2011.

The government believes fracking for shale gas has the potential to provide the UK with "greater energy security, growth and jobs" and says it "could be an important part of our transition to a low carbon future".