Today climate change activists from Insulate Britain will appear at the High Court in London and could face jail for alleged breaches of injunctions handed out to prevent disruptive protests.

A Freedom of Information request by the Local Democracy Reporting Service found the seven protests in the county cost Hertfordshire Police £58,775.22.

Four protests took place in Hertfordshire during the first 10 days of action between 13 and 23 September, before the government injunction limited activity for a number of weeks.

The force said it was unable to provide a breakdown of how many officers have had to be deployed to each protest.

At least 76 arrests have been made in connection with the Hertfordshire protests.

Insulate Britain protests (Video by Watnews)

Supt Nick Caveney said: “In order to minimise the disruption caused, we have had to dedicate resources to spotting protestors and removing them quickly; diverting valuable police resources away from our core role of preventing crime, catching criminals, and protecting the public.”