Green campaigners today vowed to mount a campaign of “civil disobedience” in a bid to stop an opencast mine destined for Telford.

An eco-camp has sprung up near the site of the impending mine between New Works and Little Wenlock, in the shadow of The Wrekin, and its numbers swelled over the Bank Holiday weekend.

Dozens of protesters are now on site.Most have said they will not leave until the mine plan is scrapped.

They are objecting to a project which will see 900,000 tonnes of coal mined at Huntington Lane.Coal bosses, however, have said they cannot stop the scheme going ahead.

Campaigners have been fighting UK Coal’s bid for an opencast mine, arguing it would wreck the countryside, and the company appealed after Telford & Wrekin Council failed to come to a decision over the application.

A public inquiry was held last year and planning inspector Andrew Mead recommended the appeal be allowed, which paved the way for Secretary of State John Denham to grant permission.

One of the camp occupants, mother-of-one “Dawn”, from Telford, said she was determined to stop the mine going ahead.

She said: “Our ultimate goal is to stop the opencasting by peaceful protest.

“We will use a campaign of civil disobedience but it will be peaceful. We don’t want to upset people living nearby, although most of them support us anyway.

“I am determined to stick this out for as long as I possibly can. We are here for the long haul.”

She said workmen had already felled some trees to pave the way for the mine but the serious excavations were not expected to start until the late spring, when the ground was firmer.

She said her husband and 10-year-old son both fully supported her in her actions.

She added: “We had quite a few people join us at the camp over the weekend and we are expecting more.”Stuart Oliver, of UK Coal, has said of the camp that such protests are illegal.

He said last month: “They can’t stop the scheme from going ahead. We will take whatever legal action we need to remove them.”

Other protesters went on to the world famous Iron Bridge on Good Friday to unfurl a giant banner objecting to the mine plan.