It was the early morning call the protesters had been dreading, writes GILL SMITH and PAUL HARRIS. Darkness still hung over the historic LMS station in Oxford when bailiffs wrenched open the doors and announced their arrival. It was the beginning of the end
With military precision, the building was cordoned off with barricades and surrounded by 100 police officers. Inside the tight cordon, bailiffs used chain-saws to hack down a line of trees fronting the station not occupied by eco-warriors.
Many nimble protesters clung on to the remaining tree branches like monkeys - until there were no more branches to cling to.
The last tree in front of the station site was felled at 11.25am - leaving the entire battlefield barren. In one tree, a young woman had been encased in a concrete-filled oil drum - literally up to her neck. She was carried to safety by bailiffs who had taken shelter while the rain battered the historic station. Outside the barricades, a lone female protester beat an African drum in time with the chainsaws, punctuating the protest with the thud of impending doom. Meanwhile bailiffs set about the inside of the LMS, releasing protesters chained to iron girders and pieces of furniture. Most were frog-marched to safety and released, although some were arrested.
A few protesters had escaped down a labyrinth of underground tunnels dug beneath the former railway station, hiding where the tracks used to be.
Up until yesterday afternoon a few had remained underneath floorboards, reading books by torchlight. Urban mythology insists that we are never less than six feet from a rat - as one protester testified as he lay prostrate in his tiny den.
But by midday the tide had turned against the eco warriors.
The historic Grade II* listed building resembled a ghetto. Tatty mattresses lay strewn across the cracked stone floor. Graffiti had been daubed over the four leaking walls, which leaked terribly. The corrugated plastic, moss-covered roof was caked with dirt and the ceiling girders rusted with age.
It made you wonder why the place was worth preserving in the first place. The building that had once been the heartbeat of Oxford's transport network was a squalid sight. Eco-warriors had divided up different parts of it, painting signs saying 'kitchen' or 'no smoking room' on the walls. Rolled up carpets lay festering, shopping trolleys were filled with empty juice cartons and a shop dummy lay amongst the debris. It was a sad and sorry scene.
As yesterday's drama unfolded, a small audience assembled to witness the spectacle across the road. Cries of 'Murderers' and 'Your children will be ashamed of you' were shouted by angry bystanders as the last tree tumbled.
By the roadside, a makeshift cardboard cross was taped to a lamppost, bearing the inscription 'RIP - Our beloved trees were felled here'. Later, that same cross lay soaking on the pavement like the trees.
One middle-aged man, living above a Chinese restaurant, watched could be seen watching the street theatre from his bedroom window. But for most commuters, the eviction was barely worth a second glance. Most looked up briefly before continuing on their way.
By 9am police officers wearing luminous jackets and bored expressions began slouching on the barricades. For police and eco-warriors alike, it had been just another day at the office.
HOW OPERATION BUFFER ROLLED OUT
*100 police officers took part in the operation
*Eviction began at 6am - but protesters were tipped off by supporters
*Face-painted 'eco-warriors' clambered up trees and down tunnels in an attempt to hinder eviction
*LMS station stormed by bailiffs
*Police cordoned off entire site
*Traffic diverted around city
*13 protesters arrested, including Green city councillor Mike Woodin, who was released on bail
*Protesters included university students
*Bailiffs used cranes to reach protesters up trees
*Last tree protester down by 11.30am
*12 people charged with obstruction
*All trees chopped down on station front
*Remaining protesters scurried on to station roof
*Building slightly damaged during eviction
*Security fences put up around it
*Operation cost more than £200,000
*Roads reopened
*Building to be dismantled soon to make way for new business school
*Three tunnel protesters still in place this morning
Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.
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