ECO-WARRIORS have dug a tunnel to escape eviction from their encampment.

A group protesting against the Orange Route relief road have warned landowner Dorset County Council it will have to spend thousands of pounds to oust them from their temporary homes.

They set up camp on council land behind Weymouth's Safeway store in Upwey last month after being served with an eviction notice from The Woodland Trust's woods at Two Mile Coppice less than 200 yards away.

At a cabinet meeting on Wednesday, county councillors are due to decide whether to start legal proceedings to evict the protestors.

One of the group, Jon Moss, from Manchester, said: "We will make decision on what to do on a step-by-step basis. If they try to evict us they will need to get specialists in to remove us from our tunnel.

"They will provoke us to move on to the next place and the next one after that. I don't understand why they want to spend that money on evicting us when a final decision on the road hasn't been made yet."

He added that the objectors were open to discussions about striking a compromise with council officers.

But a report by the county council's environmental services director Miles Butler recommends that action should be taken now to begin the eviction process.

He says there is a risk that objectors may disrupt investigation work carried out by the council, leading to delays building the road, if planning permission is granted.

His report said: 'Acting now will send out a clear message that the county council will not tolerate unlawful occupation of its land as a means of protest and will prevent protesters from becoming 'entrenched'.

'There will be opportunities for legitimate opposition to the relief road through the planning process. Also, there is a risk of delay to the site investigation programme and concerns about the county council's potential liability as owner of the land.'

Mr Butler said the council may be liable if anyone is injured on the land, but ruled out erecting a barrier around the property to prevent re-entry.