Lakes campaigners stump up cash

8:29pm Monday 5th May 2008

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Campaigners used the start of the cricket season to fight plans to fill Thrupp Lake with waste ash.

Save Radley Lakes campaigners are opposing RWE npower's plans to use the lake for waste from Didcot Power Station.

They built giant cricket stumps outside The Old Anchor in Radley as part of a fundraising day to help pay the cost of fighting Oxfordshire County Council's decision not to register the lakes as a Town Green in the High Court.

The campaigners said they built the stumps to represent RWE npower's sponsorship of the Ashes clash between England and Australia - and its plans to fill Thrupp Lake with waste ash.

The four-metre tall stumps are the same height as the proposed embankment around the lake.

Marjorie White, spokesman for Save Radley Lakes, said: "The community wants npower to declare its intention not to destroy Thrupp Lake, and to take steps to restore and preserve the area for future generations.

"If they were to agree to that, everybody would be bowled over with joy."

The fundraising event, held last Wednesday, was joined by the co-writer of the television series The Vicar of Dibley, Paul Mayhew-Archer, and the vicar of Radley, Pam McKellen.

A quiz night, raffle and photograph auction raised £300 for the legal fight.