Eviction go-ahead at Devon quarry

One of the world's biggest clay producers yesterday won the first legal step to evict 80 environmental protesters from land where it proposes to divert the Teign and Bovey rivers as part of a quarrying extension. Watts Blake Bearne was granted a possession order for the 100 acre site at Teigngrace, near Newton Abbot, south Devon, which has been occupied by around 80 eco-warriors since mid-July, by a judge at Torbay Crown Court. WBB planning and estates manager John Briggs welcomed the decision, which gives the firm the right to seek the protesters' eviction immediately.

"We hope very much the protesters will peacefully respect the court's decision when we require them to vacate the protest site," he said.

One co-defendant in the case, who calls himself Bandy, said the protesters would appeal.