Local environment campaigner and Liberal Democrat parliamentary candidate Sarah Dyke has urged David Warburton to oppose any government plans for fracking in Somerton and Frome. 

The calls come as Liz Truss announces that the ban on drilling will be lifted, while refusing to publish a government commissioned report into the risks of the practice. 

With a number of sites already designated for oil and gas exploration in Somerset it is expected that applications for local fracking sites could come within months. 

The decision to lift the ban on fracking represents a major U-turn for the government, with Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng having previously stated that gas drilling would not bring gas prices and energy bills down. 

Fracking was halted in 2019 following campaigning by environmental groups highlighting the risk of earthquakes. The government has since refused to publish a report it commissioned in April into the impact of fracking on local communities. The Liberal Democrats have today submitted a motion in Parliament to force the release of the report. 

Sarah Dyke said: 

"Local people are rightly frightened that our precious natural environment could soon be devastated by fracking wells. These plans could leave our water poisoned and our countryside mutilated. 

"The Conservatives obsession with fracking despite no evidence that it will bring down energy bills is deeply alarming.  

"Liberal Democrats are calling for the government to ban fracking once and for all. Our local MP must put his constituents first and demand the government rule out fracking in Somerton and Frome.". 

"I would also urge him to back Liberal Democrat efforts in Parliament to force the government to publish its review into the local environmental impact of fracking. Local residents must not be kept in the dark about the impact that gas drilling could have on our community."