Members of the protest group 'Leave it in the Ground' moved into Prospect Farm off Bell Lane near Smalley on June 18 protesting at plans to mine more than 300 acres around the site.

The courts granted an eviction notice against the protesters on July 18, but the campaigners asked for three weeks to clear the site.

Treehouses and tunnels have been constructed by nine protesters during their stay however at 7.30am on Thursday morning, August 7, an eviction team, comprising bailiffs called in by UK Coal, moved in.

Protester Ben Hartley, who has been camping on the site for the last few weeks, left at 7.30am this morning when the bailiffs moved in.

Ben, 29, said: "We have a hooter alarm system set up and when I first heard it this morning I thought it might be somebody messing about but then when I left my tent I saw police and bailiffs moving in on the house.

"I've got two dogs with me so I didn't have much choice but to leave. Another woman, who was tied to a tree, was taken away this morning and a man this afternoon.

"There is a tunnel defence system in the house and there are about eight people in there who've chained themselves to concrete blocks and things like that.

"The bailiffs seem to be moving very slowly at the moment because they're not sure what they're going to find inside.

"Local people and the local council didn't want this mining. The government pays lip service to green issues while giving the go-ahead to things like this.

"Global warming is here and it's happening and 'leave it in the ground' is the only option for the human race. We can't keep burning fossil fuels."

Stuart Oliver, from UK Coal, said: "The continued presence of these people here is illegal, unsafe and disruptive to local residents. We want to remove them safely, quickly and with a minimum of disruption.

"At the time of the court order the squatters asked for time to vacate the property and here we are three weeks later and they're still in the building.

"These individuals engaged in illegal activity have had their moment and it's now time for us to do our job.

"A lot of preparation has gone into this and our top priority is safety - we want to bring these people out quickly and safely. If it takes a day or two then that's how long it takes."

A spokesman for Derbyshire Police said: "We are there to maintain a police presence, prevent a breach of the peace and prevent disruption to local people.

"These things can often take a number of days so we're not putting a definite timescale on this."

As of 2pm on Thursday two arrests were made and four people evicted from the site.

Metal fences have been erected to prevent other protesters joining in.

UK Coal has permission to opencast. Earth moving due to start next week, with the first coal due out in autumn.