UK Fracking: Hundreds attend Sheffield protest

Protesters are "determined to work together to stop fracking", said organisers

Hundreds of protesters are taking part in an anti-fracking rally in South Yorkshire.

The event in Sheffield City Centre, called the Global Frackdown Carnival, is to "show the scale and strength of the opposition", organisers said.

Shale gas drilling was due to resume in Lancashire over the weekend, but has been postponed due to bad weather.

The government said fracking had "the potential to be a new energy source, enhancing our energy security".

An afternoon rally with speakers is taking place in Barkers Pool outside Sheffield City Hall and is to be followed by workshops and a fundraising party.

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Organiser Ross Monaghan said the event had brought anti-fracking groups and campaigners from across the region.

"Ninety five per cent of South Yorkshire is licensed for fracking, as is much of Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire, and we are determined to work together to stop it", he said.

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Campaigner Jenny Gerrans said: My daughter is three years old, and I want her to live in a place where there is clean drinking water, beautiful countryside and healthy ecosystems.

"I believe fracking threatens all of those things, and that together, we can stop it."

The process sees liquid pumped at high pressure deep underground to fracture rock and release gas.

Fracking was due to resume for the first time in the UK since it was linked with earthquakes in 2011.

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Its use has been defended by the government, which said it could create well-paid jobs and other economic benefits.

Any development "must be safe and environmentally sound" before it is approved, it added.