ANTI-fracking campaigners are set to mark a “frack-free year” on Tuesday, April 10.

The day is the anniversary of the re-opening of the public footpath adjacent to the Kirby Misperton KM8 gas site, after the fracking equipment was removed.

The campaigners will gather to walk the footpath and have afternoon tea.

The site, which was the focus for so much of the anti-fracking protests in late 2017, has been quiet since early 2018, when gas company Third Energy moved fracking equipment off site following a request by the Government for proof of “financial resilience”.

The footpath, which had been closed for health and safety reasons, was re-opened by North Yorkshire County Council in April 2018.

In December 2018, Third Energy laid out plans to explore for gas in Ryedale over the next few years.

These include fracking the KM8 well by the end of this year and, within 18 months, drilling another lateral well and completing a hydraulic fracture operation in that.

But campaigners vowed to continue to fight the industry. Local resident Hazel Winter said: “I don’t think they are coming back anytime soon, but we are ready if they do.”