PROTESTERS started to descend on Didcot yesterday ahead of a demonstration against government plans to build 30 new gas-fired power stations.

The arrival of the first wave of Reclaim the Power demonstrators in South Oxfordshire came as demolition firm Coleman and Company confirmed the remaining three cooling towers at Didcot A are due to be demolished next year.

It had originally been thought the towers would come down later this year but Coleman and Company could not give any reason for why it would now happen in 2016 and were unable to give a specific date.

Reclaim the Power have set up camp in Appleford, just north of Didcot and they will be running workshops today and tomorrow.

There will then be a day of action on Monday when they will demonstrate against gas powered power stations such as Didcot B.

Protestor Morten Thaysen said: “Everything is going pretty smoothly so far.

“We have been up since 2am this morning to prepare so we are all a bit tired.

“We are just about to set our wind turbines up so we can get power.

“It is hard to say how many people are here so far but it is about 100.

“We are expecting most people to arrive tomorrow and Sunday and we are expecting about 1,000 in total.

“There are a lot of people who are very dedicated to the issues.”