Greenpeace supporters from Welwyn Garden City joined a nationwide protest against destructive deep sea mining last weekend.

Nine protestors took to Knightsfield Park to voice their concerns about the mining, with pressure mounting on the International Seabed Authority to allow the digging to proceed ahead of a meeting in Jamaica next month.

The mining will put sealife at risk, according to protester Helen Becket, who said: "I joined volunteers from Greenpeace Welwyn Garden City to send a message to our MP Grant Shapps and PM Rishi Sunak.

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"They need to take ocean protection seriously and call for a ban on deep sea mining.

"Deep sea mining would destroy the habitat of fantastic sounding but little-known sea life such as ghost octopus, yeti crab, scaly-foot snail or barreleye fish."

The UK Government began work into deep sea mining a decade ago by giving licences to UK Seabed Resources, sponsorsing an exploration area covering 133,000km2 of the Pacific Ocean - larger than the size of England.

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WGC protester Sarah Butcher wants to see more sustainable energy used.

"Rather than a handful of companies exploiting the deep sea for profit, we need to prioritise reusing resources and moving to a sustainable, circular economy," she said. 

"I don’t want the phone I use, or the chips in my computer to be there as a result of damage to such a precious ecosystem, which protects us from climate change and provides livelihoods to people across the world."