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Daniel Marc Hooper (born 1973), known by the nickname Swampy, is a British
environmental activist
The environmental movement (sometimes referred to as the ecology movement), also including conservation and green politics, is a diverse philosophical, social, and political movement for addressing environmental issues. Environmentalists advo ...
.
He was involved in a number of environmental protests in the 1990s, becoming nationally famous after spending a week in a tunnel aiming to stop the expansion of the
A30 in
Fairmile, Devon, in 1996. In 2020, he was arrested attempting to stop the destruction of
Jones Hill Wood for
High Speed 2
High Speed 2 (HS2) is a planned high-speed railway line in England, the first phase of which is under construction in stages and due for completion between 2029 and 2033, depending on approval for later stages. The new line will run from its m ...
(HS2) and then joined a
Stop HS2 protest at
Euston Square Gardens
Euston Square Gardens is a public garden on Euston Road in the London Borough of Camden.
The gardens are the northern gardens of the former residential Euston Square, the southern gardens were renamed Endsleigh Gardens.
The gardens are enclosed b ...
in London.
Activism
Swampy became a nationally known figure in 1996 after spending a week in a complex series of tunnels dug in the path of a new extension to the
A30 in Fairmile, Devon, resisting attempts at eviction by police. Specialists were called in to safely remove Swampy and other protesters locked deep inside the network of artificial tunnels. Several people took part in the protest, but Swampy was the last one to be evicted. The magistrate passing sentence on him was
David Cameron's mother. The mainstream media became fascinated with Swampy, and his subsequent fame included an appearance on the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
comedy current affairs quiz ''
Have I Got News for You'', as the show's youngest-ever panelist.
A folk song was written about him, entitled "The Fairmile Road Protest Song (Digging Down)". He also protested against the
Newbury bypass
The Newbury bypass, officially known as The Winchester-Preston Trunk Road (A34) (Newbury Bypass), is a stretch of dual carriageway road which bypasses the town of Newbury in Berkshire, England. It is located to the west of the town and forms p ...
, and in 1997, he entered tunnels intended to prevent the building of a second
runway
According to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), a runway is a "defined rectangular area on a land aerodrome prepared for the landing and takeoff of aircraft". Runways may be a man-made surface (often asphalt, concre ...
at
Manchester Airport.
He then dropped out of sight and refused to talk to the media.
In 2007, the ''Sunday Mirror'' newspaper reported that Swampy was taking part in the climate change protests at
Heathrow Airport. Hooper's presence on the protest site was dependent on his keeping a low profile, so his celebrity status would not detract from the event. In September 2019, Swampy took part in an
Extinction Rebellion
Extinction Rebellion (abbreviated as XR) is a global environmental movement, with the stated aim of using nonviolent civil disobedience to compel government action to avoid tipping points in the climate system, biodiversity loss, and the risk o ...
protest, attaching himself to a concrete block at the entrance to the
Valero Energy
Valero Energy Corporation is a Fortune 500 international manufacturer and marketer of transportation fuels, other petrochemical products, and power. It is headquartered in San Antonio, Texas, United States. Throughout the United States and Ca ...
fuel refinery in Pembrokeshire. He admitted to a charge of wilful obstruction of the highway and was fined £40, plus £85 for costs and a £32 surcharge, commenting, "I am pleading guilty, I can't really afford to keep coming to court."
Swampy was arrested at
Jones Hill Wood in
Buckinghamshire in October 2020, having occupied a tree house as part of a
Stop HS2 protest to prevent trees being felled because they are on the route of
High Speed 2
High Speed 2 (HS2) is a planned high-speed railway line in England, the first phase of which is under construction in stages and due for completion between 2029 and 2033, depending on approval for later stages. The new line will run from its m ...
.
In January 2021, he was involved in the
construction and occupation of tunnels at
Euston Square Gardens
Euston Square Gardens is a public garden on Euston Road in the London Borough of Camden.
The gardens are the northern gardens of the former residential Euston Square, the southern gardens were renamed Endsleigh Gardens.
The gardens are enclosed b ...
in London as part of the same protests. His 16 year-old son joined him in the tunnel protest.
Swampy left the tunnel on 25 February.
Hooper and others again built and occupied a tunnel on the site of HS2 work in Wendover, Buckinghamshire, emerging on 13 November 2021. They spent 35 days holding out against the national eviction team, 28 of those days completely underground.
Personal life
Swampy was born in 1973
in
Luton
Luton () is a town and unitary authority with borough status, in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 census, the Luton built-up area subdivision had a population of 211,228 and its built-up area, including the adjacent towns of Dunstable a ...
, Bedfordshire. In 2006, he was living with his girlfriend and their three children in a
yurt
A yurt (from the Turkic languages) or ger ( Mongolian) is a portable, round tent covered and insulated with skins or felt and traditionally used as a dwelling by several distinct nomadic groups in the steppes and mountains of Central Asia ...
, a dome-shaped tent, in Tipi Valley, a
commune
A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to:
Administrative-territorial entities
* Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township
** Communes of ...
in west Wales. As of 2013, he was still living in Wales with his family, working for the
Forestry Commission
The Forestry Commission is a non-ministerial government department responsible for the management of publicly owned forests and the regulation of both public and private forestry in England.
The Forestry Commission was previously also respon ...
and running marathons and half marathons.
See also
*
Environmental direct action in the United Kingdom
The modern environmental direct action movement in the United Kingdom started in 1991 with the formation of the first UK Earth First! group for a protest at Dungeness nuclear power station. Within two years, there were fifty Earth First! groups a ...
References
External links
Interview: Swampy on tunnels, bailiffs and 25 years of protest: 'We need to stop capitalists destroying the planet'in ''The Guardian'', 2021
List of media articles about the Third Battle of Newbury
{{DEFAULTSORT:Swampy
1973 births
Place of birth missing (living people)
Anti-road protest
British environmentalists
DIY culture
Living people
High Speed 2
People from Luton
Criminals from Bedfordshire