Environmental activists have endured their second night in the Euston tunnel, but eviction officers have said the tunnel is close to water and gas pipes and that activists are risking their lives.
The tunnelers described how they built what is believed to be one of the largest tunnel networks occupied by protesters in one of London’s busiest areas undetected.
The network has two main tunnels that exit in different directions from the downward axis and are said to be at least 30 meters long.
The tunnels were built over a period of several months after an environmental activist camp was set up in Euston Square Gardens last August. They joined a community of homeless people on the street who were already camping there.
Euston Station is one of the busiest in London, serving trains, buses and the Tube. It is located on Euston Road, a main artery that runs through central London.
Metropolitan police, British transport police, Network Rail, Camden council and Transport for London denied that it had been their responsibility to monitor the site to dig tunnels. HS2 said it took possession of the site on Wednesday.
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One of the activists, Ben Hartley, told the Guardian how the covert operation was carried out in plain sight. “It’s not a new idea for protesters to dig tunnels,” he said. “I’m pretty sure the various organizations must have had the idea that something was going on.”
He said the tunnel network, which he described as an “extensive maze of protest”, was believed to be one of the largest of its kind.
Hartley said the most dangerous time for activists in a tunnel was when bailiffs begin their excavation. He believes that at least two members of the high court application, the group carrying out the eviction, are highly trained to deal with such actions.
He said of the excavation operation, “It’s a bit like The Great Escape.” He said the main structure in which the camp activists lived in the months leading up to this week’s eviction was a long, multi-room room with a locked front door. “If someone came in who didn’t like the look, we just closed the front door,” he said.
When the excavations began under this living space, the activists piled up the earth they removed from the floor of their house. “In the end we were crouched down as we went from room to room,” Hartley said. “In some places, the ground was stacked 3 feet high. We cut the wood to support the inner tunnel so that it could not be seen ”.
He said part of the purpose of the protest was to raise awareness about the loss of a beautiful park in the middle of a heavily built-up part of the capital. “It’s a shame to miss this park to build a temporary taxi rank,” he said. “We are smart and hardworking people and we want to raise awareness about the fact that this is part of the battle for the future of our species.”
Howard Rees, a spokesman for Euston Square Gardens tree protectors, said a citizen assembly was urgently needed to deal with the climate emergency. “We need sensible British to take the reins and guide us in this.”
Tunnel activists have posted images of failed exchanges with the eviction crew, whom they accuse of depriving them of sleep throughout the day with their drilling and punching work. Larch Maxey, one of the occupants, said it was a form of torture for the inhabitants of the tunnel.
High Court Enforcement said: “The national eviction team has pledged to legally withdraw activists from Euston Gardens. In their attempts to delay their withdrawal, illegal occupants have occupied a tunnel dug crudely into the ground. .
“We are aware through our risk assessment and their statements in various media today that they have previously experienced a collapse and the entry of water into their tunnel. Illegal activists seem to have put themselves in danger of a new collapse of the tunnel and, potentially, of intercepting nearby water and gas pipes, causing risks of suffocation, flooding and drowning.
“To mitigate the dangers, we use compressors specialized in air control to circulate the air and equipment to control the air conditions. Activists have not anticipated this. We have engineers available to assess whether the tunnel works near gas and water pipes and cables or other public services.