A PROTESTOR spent the day outside the Hereford MP's office to express his concern about potential fracking in the south of the county.

Greenpeace campaigner Rick Guest set up camp outside Hereford and South Herefordshire MP Jesse Norman's office in Broad Street last Friday.

He held a message saying "Don't frack the shire Jesse" and spoke to members of the public about fracking.

The Wye Valley and Forest of Dean were part of the 159 Petroleum Exploration and Development Licences awarded for fracking across England.

MP for North Herefordshire, Bill Wiggin, and Mr Norman voted in favour of fracking last December.

Speaking during Break Free from Fossil Fuels, a global fortnight of action to keep coal, oil and gas in the ground, Mr Guest said: “I have been meeting with Jesse for four years now, alongside a group of well-informed local experts in environmental matters.

"We were asked to write a paper on fracking, which we duly did, but by voting for fracking in December it is obvious that he is still not convinced.”

Mr Guest said he is against fracking because of concerns about groundwater contamination by toxic chemicals, excessive use of water, escape of methane, and the destruction of the local environment.

Mr Guest said that of the 100 people he spoke to during the protest, not one person knew about the licenses issued to South Western Energy Ltd.

He said: "Although no planning permission has been issued yet, people I spoke to are furious about the lack of consultation and now is the time they should take this up with their local councillors, before it is too late,"

The area in south Herefordshire has been licensed for gas exploration and development in the form of Coal Bed Methane.

But before a licensee can start operations it must apply for planning and other permissions, which has not yet happened in the area.