A Green Party councillor who sits on West Berkshire Council has appeared in court after he was arrested at a HS2 protest.

Councillor Steve Masters, 50, and other activists staged the protest at a construction site near the M25 in Buckinghamshire, where a 10-mile tunnel for the high-speed rail line will soon be dug under the Chiltern Hills.

The activists, who claim the tunnelling will damage the environment, blocked the entrance to the site at around 5.30am on September 14 by locking their arms into devices made of steel and concrete, known as lock-ons.

But over the following 24 hours, eight of them were removed by Hertfordshire Constabulary officers and arrested.

READ MORE: Plans for 401 homes near Newbury up for discussion

Cllr Masters, of Island Cottage in West Mills, and Ross Monaghan, 37, were charged under Section 241 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992.

That section of the act makes it an offence to “beset” a place of work.

A police spokeswoman said: “They were on bail for similar offences committed in Thames Valley jurisdiction and also related to HS2 and were remanded over-night because of their breach.”

Both men appeared by live-link at Stevenage Magistrates Court on September 16 and released on bail until October 30, when they are due to appear at Central and West Herts Magistrates Court.

The conditions on their bail restrict them from going within 50 metres of any HS2 construction site or building and inferfering with the operation of any HS2 project.

The following people were also charged under the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992:

  • Harry Newland, 23, of no fixed address
  • Liam Denham, 56, of Kings Lane in Wendover
  • Elena Mann, 20, of Canning Crescent in Oxford
  • Zackary Brown, 24, of no fixed address
  • Eden Staples, 25, of London Road in Wendover
  • Orla Hladky, 19, of London Road in Wendover

They have all been released on conditional bail and are due to appear at Central and West Herts Magistrates Court on October 30.