It’s 3.00am, on Thursday 8 August 2024. A small group of vans are driving quietly through the dark countryside of northern England. Then, suddenly, police cars surround the vehicles. A search of the vans reveals camping equipment – tents, wheelchair access tracks, toilet blocks – all of which are confiscated and the occupants of the vans arrested.
This was the first police action in a day of vehicle stops and house raids that saw around 25 people arrested on conspiracy charges. The ‘crime’ they were planning? Setting up camp in a field near Drax power station.
