Sleep-deprived HS2 protesters in tunnels under Euston Square Gardens complain of ‘torture’ as security dig down

HS2 protesters living in underground tunnels under Euston Square have complained of the “torture of sleep deprivation” as bailiffs worked throughout the night to dig them out.

Larch Maxey, 48, who has been living in the park since August last year, said that a truce made by the National Eviction Team to stop working between 5 and 7am was broken by the constant sound of heavy digging machinery.

At least four activists spent the night in the 100ft tunnel network and said the plan was to “keep digging” as security contractors tried to bore an auxiliary tunnel over their heads in an effort to get them out.

A Met spokesman confirmed that five arrests have been made at the site of a protest in Euston Square Gardens on Thursday

He added:"Two people have been arrested under the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation Act) and three people have been under the Health Protection (Coronavirus) Regulations 2020."

Meanwhile Maxey said in a video filmed underground: “The hardest thing now is the noise, they are constantly working making loads of noise with loud machinery. We've had no sleep, that's been really hard.

"They promised they would give us a couple of hours without working at the end of the night shift between 5 and 7am. But as soon as we gave them what they wanted they backtracked.

“We’ve had no time without the constant noise.

“It’s a form of torture to have no sleep, sleep deprivation is a well-known form of torture.  It’s not comfortable, it’s not pleasant.

“We put a lot of effort being safe down here but if we are sleep deprived it might it’s completely unjustified.

"Please put pressure on HS2 to give us some sleep.”

Other campaigners said two people had been left on a wooden platform a tree without water or a tent for protection against the bitterly cold night.

Blue Sandford, 18, dubbed “Britain’s Greta Thunberg” is believed to be in the tunnel network with veteran activist Swampy.

The HS2 Rebellion campaigners claim the small green space outside Euston Station will be built over with a temporary taxi rank before being sold to developers as part of plans for the high-speed railway.

HS2 Protests: January 2021

Extinction Rebellion activists protest the HS2 high-speed railway in London
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Bailiffs from the National Eviction Team, a subsidiary of the High Court Enforcement (HCE) group, began evicting protesters in the early hours of Wednesday morning and continued to take down the makeshift camp throughout the day.

Enforcement officers said that the activists’ inexperience was exposing them to “significant risk” in the tunnel and that it was aware of a previous collapse and “water ingress”.

They said protesters were also in danger of potentially “intercepting nearby gas and water pipes, leading to risks of suffocation, flooding and drowning”.

Specialist equipment is being used to circulate air in the tunnels and to monitor conditions inside.

HS2 Rebellion previously said they believed they “can hold out in the tunnel for several weeks and hope in this time that a court will rule against HS2 for breaking the law by attempting an eviction without a court order and during the national coronavirus lockdown”.

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