On their last visit early in the morning of Sat 3rd May, the group even stayed until daybreak so that they could photograph the results of their work. The photos show the extent of the damage they have caused.

This comes at a most embarrassing time for both biotech company, Aventis and the government who are this month embarking on a GM Public Debate. Aventis can ill afford to lose data in this way as several farmers have pulled out of the trials over the three years they have been taking place.

A spokesperson for the group who agreed to be known only as GM Free Cathy said “Our action is different to those carried out by other groups. We decided that we needed plenty of time to remove as much of the crop as possible. We first entered the field on a frosty December night and have since returned five times, decontaminating a different part of the field on each visit. As the crop grew we changed our technique, using hoes when the plants were small and scythes when they became waist high. We even perfected our own tool using pallet wood.”

The farmer, Mr Meadows has been conducting the trial on behalf of the biotech company Aventis, a division of Bayer CropScience Ltd on a farm near Alveston near Stratford on Avon.

“Apart from being dangerous to other plants and the whole environment if genes transfer, these crops benefit no-one except the seed companies,” said Cathy “They have no added value nutritionally, they are not cheaper and the farmers are locked into impossibly tight contracts. In short, they are a cynical attempt to control the entire food production process from seed to plate. We would not accept this kind of monopoly in any other business. Why risk the world’s food supply in this giant gamble?”

When asked to answer the charge that these protests amount to no more than a form of vandalism, Cathy stood up for her un-named colleagues. “These are proud and lovely people who wouldn’t harm a flea but will always stand up for what they know is right,” she said.