DINA Baird, from Warrington Friends of the Earth, was among hundreds to take part in Sunday’s fracking demonstration at Barton Moss.

She took her family to protest against the current testing there, and in her words, explains why.

“Fracking ( the new F-word in our house).

“One of my four children Rowan asked me a question about fracking the other day. I’d read a bit about it and was clear on my position, but it’s not until you put it into words for a 10-year old, that the simple truth really hit home.

“Fracking is a process of drilling into the ground, forcing thousands and thousands of gallons of water and toxic chemicals under high pressure so that the surrounding rock cracks and some of the trapped natural gas is pushed out.

“Then it gets transported around and burned, producing carbon dioxide, adding to the problem of climate change.

“It doesn’t always work. Breaking the rock can lead to earth tremors. Chemicals can leak into the local water supplies. The gas doesn’t get collected completely and can escape. And when it does, that gas, methane, is much, much worse for climate change even than carbon dioxide.

“Then the other children asked me why it’s not being stopped. After all, it’s banned in France.

“They wanted to do something to show they are worried, they don’t want this and that they want to be heard. It’s their future.

“So that day we made our banners. On Sunday, along with around a thousand others, we marched.

“But there is a second option. We could secure continuous, safe, home-grown and free resources. We could protect our children from a future of wild and unpredictable weather patterns. We could invest in renewables instead.”