Bretton oak tree: Exclusion area set up around tree as felling could be imminent

Security guards from Business Watch arrived in the early hours of the morning after being employed by Peterborough City Council to look after the safety of everyone involved and manage the scene.

Although the two public entrances to the footpath where the tree is located in Ringwood, there are a number of Extinction Rebellion protesters still inside the area and two of them up the tree itself. The camp was set up on Tuesday (June 28), when the council originally intended to fell the tree. A number of residents have also gathered outside of the perimeter.

A number of legal arguments are still being made by the protestors and due to this, it is not yet known if the felling of the tree will take place on Wednesday as planned. Neither the security guards nor the police at the scene were able to confirm a timescale for the events.

The move comes after protestors lost a legal battle to save the tree in County Court yesterday when the judge decided he did not have the jurisdiction to make a ruling on the case.