A councillor who sits on West Berkshire Council said he was removed from a tree where he had been living for three months and arrested when a HS2 protest turned “violent”.

Councillor Steve Master’s stay in Jones’ Hill Wood in Buckinghamshire was brought to an end on Friday, October 3 – a day after an eviction team was called to remove around 40 protesters.

The environmentalists, who have been staying in makeshift treehouses, are protesting plans to build the high-speed rail line through the woods, which is said to have been a source of inspiration for Roald Dahl.

Security workers and Thames Valley Police officers are still trying to remove protesters and 11 arrests have been made so far.

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A HS2 spokeswoman said protesters have been abusive and thrown urine, faeces, paint pots, rocks and smoke grenades at the eviction team.

Cllr Masters said: “Things got dangerous and violent solely because of their extraction and eviction team.

“They were slashing their tree pruners indiscriminately at protesters.

“I personally had my rucksack slashed by a serrated blade.”

The 50-year-old Green Party councillor said he was arrested for breaching a bail condition – imposed after an arrest at an earlier protest – that prohibits him from impeding HS2 workers.

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He said: “When the eviction started on Thursday morning, it was our intention to stay there for as long as possible.

“But unfortunately, it was so wet and cold I went hypothermic.

“I was locked into a lock-in device in the tree and I couldn’t disconnect myself, so the police came up the tree, disconnect me and arrested me.”

Cllr Masters said he was released without charge after around 27 hours in police custody.

He also said protesters are returning to the site and have vowed to stay there “for as long as possible”.

A HS2 spokeswoman said the eviction has been carried out with “professionalism in the face of extreme intimidation and criminal behaviour”.

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She added: “We respect people’s right to peaceful protest, but it is extremely dangerous when activists unlawfully trespass on live construction sites, lock themselves onto machinery and position themselves precariously in trees.

“The actions of these trespassers, many of whom are breaching their bail conditions, is unlawful and violent – they have been throwing paint pots, tins of soup, smoke bombs, bird scaring rockets, rocks, urine and faeces at the eviction team, causing a dangerous situation for everyone involved.

“Paint has also been thrown over the woodland floor, damaging the environment and destroying the soil that HS2 was planning to translocate.

“There are 10,000 people already working on the HS2 project and we recently announced a further 22,000 jobs across the country at a time when it needs them most.

“Only 0.29 square kilometres of ancient woodland is being lost across the entire Phase One route, with over 33 square kilometres of new woodland and wildlife habitats being created as part of our plan to create a green corridor of richer, more diverse and better-connected landscapes along the railway.”

Cllr Masters is still on bail after he was arrested for taking part in a protest that blocked another HS2 construction site in Buckinghamshire last month.

He is at due to appear at Central and West Herts Magistrates Court on October 30.