HS2 protesters waiting for eviction to begin after papers served

The protection camp group has been taking action over phase 2a of the line from Fradley to Crewe

A group of HS2 protesters at a camp in Staffordshire are still on site a day after they were due to be evicted.

HS2 Ltd had served evictions papers demanding they vacate the site near Swynnerton by 24 March.

But the group said it was not expecting to get moved on straight away, had no plans to leave voluntarily and would resist any forced eviction.

One of the protesters, Steph, said: "They'll probably leave it for a few weeks and just hope that we get bored."

They are opposing the construction of the high speed railway between Fradley and Crewe.

The Local Democracy Reporting Service, which spoke to the protesters, said they had dug a tunnel and built tree houses to make any eviction more difficult.

There are also a large number of wooden pallets, which they said they would use to construct a tower.

Steph said he had no idea when that might come and added: "At some camps, it could be as soon as the end of the notice has come about, but sometimes they'll leave it for months on end."

He said the waiting can cause "a lot of stress".

"I really like to now what I'm up in the next week, and coming months, so I really don't know when that's the situation, when we've got an eviction hanging over our heads," he said.

"It's just a really beautiful woodland and it needs to stay, so I'll do what I can to keep it here."

About 40 people have been living at the woodland site off the A51

Another protester, Nigel, said he had past experience of evictions.

"Tunnel bailiffs are usually really good. They'll work with people, because it's all about safety.

"We're not deliberately putting ourselves in the way of danger, but we will put ourselves in a position where we think we can protect a tree or a piece of land."

He said as well as slowing the progress of the work, he hoped protest camps like this one would help build public awareness.

A spokesperson for HS2 Ltd said the line, once operational, would "provide zero-carbon rail travel from day one" and urged protesters to leave the encampments.

They added the firm was planting seven million trees and shrubs between Birmingham and London, and was creating new wildlife habitats on the route to Crewe.