Keep your fracking hands off Cannock Chase: PICTURES and VIDEO as Green Party leader Natalie Bennett hails campaigners

On a visit to Chasewater, the Australian-born politician said fossil fuels should be left in the ground to prevent 'catastrophic environmental consequences'.

It came after the Government approved proposals to allow fracking to extract shale gas below areas of outstanding natural beauty, such as Cannock Chase.

Ms Bennett's visit at the weekend was to mark her party's successful protest against the sale of Staffordshire County Council's countryside estates.

But she also wanted to kick-start the party's next campaign – 'Keep Your Fracking Off Cannock Chase'.

In response to a question asking if areas such as Cannock Chase were vulnerable to the practice in the future, she said yes.

She added: "We saw the Government go back on a promise not to allow fracking under national parks and areas of outstanding natural beauty.

"We say it shouldn't be allowed anywhere but let's just focus on Britain.

"We know we have to leave two thirds of our fossil fuels in the ground to prevent catastrophic environmental consequences."

The Cannock Chase Green Party has already started a campaign to prohibit the controversial gas extraction on the Chase which gained more than 2,200 signatures since just before Christmas.

Although no decision has been made to proceed with fracking on the visitor site, the group is keen to demonstrate strong local opposition by the time the county council, which owns the site, comes to make any future decision on it.

Ms Bennett added: "Fracking is the opposite direction that we should be heading in.

"We certainly know the environmental impact of it. Fracking is just a huge distraction to what we should be doing which is focusing on renewable energy and conservation."

Fracking is the process of drilling down into the earth to extract gas.

In America, where the practice is more common, it has been linked to minor earth tremors and contaminated water.

Whilst in Cannock Ms Bennett commended local members on putting pressure on Staffordshire County Council not to sell-off any of its major countryside visitor attractions.

She said: "I'm here to celebrate a real success, the message was very clearly delivered that people hugely value their green spaces and they don't want them privatised.

"When that happens they get downgraded and we lost them as a public asset.

"Now the council has gone on record saying they are not going to sell any of its sites which is a really critical public protection."