Swampy’s son, 16, claims his ‘proud’ mother is ‘worried’ but ‘knows he’s safe’ in HS2 tunnels

The 16-year-old son of veteran eco activist Swampy, who is holed up with his father in tunnels under Euston, said his mum is ‘really proud’, but ‘worried’.

Rory Hooper said being in the cramped burrows protesting against HS2 was ‘more fun than he thought’.

And he revealed he was in daily contact with his mother back in their Tipi Valley home in Wales and claimed she knew ‘He was safe with Dad’.

Swampy – real name Daniel Hooper – had come under fire for allowing him to be in the tunnels, which have suffered a number of collapses.

Both father and son helped build the underground structures in protest over the HS2 £98billion high speed railway and its financial and environmental costs.

Rory said: ‘Mum is really proud. She tells me on the phone and I can feel it. She likes me to ring her every day. I know she worries about me but also she knows that I am safe with Dad.

‘It’s more fun than I thought. I actually love it underground. It’s really peaceful. 

Dan ‘Swampy’ Hooper has been criticised as ‘reckless and irresponsible,’ for allowing his son 16-year-old son Rory (pictured) to stay in tunnels at the Euston Square Gardens HS2 protest 

Swampy says he ‘couldn’t be prouder,’ of his son (pictured together), but admits he was cautious about Rory staying in the tunnel at first 

Bailiffs and enforcement officers had yesterday begun the process of clearing away the site

Piles of rubbish were left after the destruction of the HS2-protesting camp continued

The protesters are campaigning against the £98billion HS2 railway line and its huge cost

‘I’ve always been aware of what Dad did years ago, before I was born. But it’s only since visiting HS2 sites with him this summer and seeing the beautiful ancient woodland they’re destroying that I’ve properly understood what it is to feel so passionate about trying to stop it,’ he added to the Guardian.

Swampy, who has been known for using tunnels as a form of protest since the 1990s, has faced criticism for allowing his son Rory, 16, to join the underground protest – amid concern the tunnels could collapse.

Pro-HS2 MP Andrew Mitchell told The Sun: ‘Swampy’s son should be studying as best he can for his next exam, not down the end of a dangerous tunnel. 

‘His father is being reckless and irresponsible.’

A rescue expert had warned that heavy rain and sleet could cause tunnels beneath Euston in London to collapse and endanger HS2 activists living in the underground passages.  

Father-of-four Swampy has spoken about his son joining the protest, adding: ‘To begin with, I didn’t want Rory to be in the tunnel for the eviction, but he was absolutely adamant that he would stay down there with me for it.

The HS2 Rebellion group are protesting at Euston Square Gardens as they believe the small green space will be levelled to make way for a temporary taxi rank before being sold to developers. Swampy is one of a number of people staying in makeshift tunnels that experts fear is at risk of collapse

Cherry pickers arrived at the London gardens on Saturday to dismantle structures protesters had set up inside trees as part of the demonstration

‘He did help dig it and it is his future at stake, and that of other young people like him, so I couldn’t really argue. He reminds me of what I was like at his age and I just couldn’t be prouder of him.

The HS2 Rebellion group are protesting at Euston Square Gardens as they believe the small green space will be levelled to make way for a temporary taxi rank before being sold to developers. 

As well as staying in tunnels, other campaigners were using trees to protest, although cherry pickers arrived at the weekend to dismantle the structures.

The group now says eviction teams are digging above their heads, and protesters were kept awake all night to ‘coax us out of the hole’, the BBC reports.  

Demonstrators have not said how many are underground, but they are confident they can keep the protest going for a few more days.  

One demonstrator said: ‘All night we’ve had rocks falling down onto our head through the gaps.

‘They’ve kept us awake all night for hours and hours and hours to keep us awake and try and coax us out of the hole.

‘All of the dirt is still coming down in my sleeves. It’s not the most pleasant of experiences, it’s pretty nasty to be fair.’

Some of the protesters outside the tunnels have been arrested.  

The eviction team has taken off the roof from the structure protecting the front of the tunnel.