Lancashire reaction to fracking ban being lifted

As the government lifted a moratorium on fracking, what do people in Lancashire near the UK's only shale gas wells think?

It comes as a report by the British Geological Survey concluded there is still limited understanding of the UK's shale reserves and drilling impacts.

It was banned after a series of tremors at energy firm Cuadrilla's Preston New Road site, near Blackpool, in 2019.

While those opposed to fracking were "appalled", others welcomed the news.

Fracking involves drilling into the earth and directing a high-pressure mixture of water, sand and chemicals at a rock layer in order to release the gas inside.

The government said on Thursday the moratorium would be reversed to help boost the UK's domestic gas supplies.

Anjie Mosher, from Blackpool, is one of the original Nanas Against Fracking who protested outside Preston New Road until the moratorium was imposed.

"I'm gobsmacked they've had the audacity to do it," she said, from the site where the group have returned following the news.

She said she thought protesting there was all in the past and the news has brought back the "trauma" of it.

Fracking "destroys lives and the land", she said, but the government "don't care about communities".

She added: "How will they dispose of the dangerous waste"Police custody image of Jake Balmforth looking straight at the camera. He has short brown hair and stubble and is wearing a grey top. " class="sc-d1200759-0 dvfjxj"/>