ANTI-FRACKING demonstrators have marked a year of protest with a visit from the Dalai Lama’s Gyuto monks.

Exactly a year on from the establishment of the contentious Kirby Misperton Protection Camp, the monks came to the gates of the KM8 fracking well-site in Habton Road to perform a sacred chant.

On Wednesday afternoon, about 100 people gathered at the site to witness the ceremony.

The Gyuto monastic university was founded in 1475 in Lhasa, Tibet, but the monks were forced to flee to India with the Dalai Lama when the Chinese invaded in 1950.

They established the Gyuto monastery in Dharamsala.

The Gyuto monks chant in a deep, harmonic overtone - a practise dating back 600 years - and have performed to huge audiences worldwide, from the Sydney Opera House to Glastonbury Festival.

The monks are currently touring the UK for a series of special Sacred Music Concerts.

A spokesman from the Kirby Misperton Protection Camp said: “Our heartfelt thanks go to the monks who have travelled so far to see us.

“This occasion has allowed us to come together with peaceful hearts, reminding us of the love we have for the land and each other - the reason that we are fighting so hard.

“International solidarity is growing, and as we look towards the end of another year, we are determined to continue the fight at KM8, and every other well that is planned for our beautiful area.”

The monks’ visit was organised by Gillian Kavanagh from the Frack Free Lancashire group.

She addressed the crowd, saying: “Going on the tour with the monks has taught me a lot about blessings and coming from a place of the heart, and from a place of love, which I have for you, and for the land, and our future generations. That’s why we’re doing this.”

The Kirby Misperton Protection Camp was founded last December in a field near the village.

In that time it has grown significantly. Some protesters will be marking their second Christmas at the camp this year.

At the time of writing, no test frack had yet taken place at the site, with the company still awaiting secretary of state consent.

Anti-fracking protesters have also been criticising gas company Third Energy for being several months late filing their accounts, but a spokesman for the company said that the accounts are currently being prepared.