ANTI-FRACKING campaigners claim they have been misled by a company planning to drill close to their homes.

Frack Free Ryedale has hit out at Third Energy, the group behind plans to frack at the KM8 wellsite, in Kirby Misperton, over how many Heavy Goods Vehicles will come through the village if work takes place.

Those opposed to the work to drill for shale gas say the planned number of lorries set to move through the village if work gets underway is almost four times as many in the planning application compared to the original figure mentioned during public consultation meetings.

Chris Redston, of Frack Free Ryedale, claims the brochures sent out by Third Energy last December said there would be 266 HGV movements in the first eight weeks.

He told The Press: "In February 2015, Third Energy held four public consultations in Ryedale. At these events they handed out a public consultation booklet, in which they said there would be 266 HGV movements in the same period.

"However, analysis of the planning application documents by campaign group Frack Free Ryedale has identified that Third Energy's planning statement contains 910 HGV movements planned for the first eight-week period - nearly four times as many included in the consultation documents - along with 600 LGV/car movements, giving a total of 1,510 traffic movements."

Revd Jackie Cray, who lives in Kirby Misperton, added: "We're very concerned at this huge increase in HGV traffic, and the impact this will have on the village.

"Nine hundred and ten HGV movements is vastly different from the 266 they claimed earlier in the year, and for there to be such a discrepancy is extremely worrying."

A spokesman for Third Energy said: "In the leaflets Third Energy produced, round trips were described as one journey but in the planning application they are counted as two, so the figures are not comparable.

"That said, as a result of extensive consultation process with local residents, the council, the environment agency and other interested parties Third Energy amended its proposals and two changes - to remove waste water by road rather than a pipeline and to construct a noise barrier – led to a significant increase in truck movements, a fact set out in our planning application that has been available for the public to view since July."