Eco-warriors campaigning against the £92 million A130 bypass could soon amass nationwide support that will help them fight through the winter.

The might of the tree-top protest could even rival much-publicised campaigns against the Newbury bypass and Manchester airport, the Green Party today warned.

Supporters from across the country are likely to flock to the protest as coverage of the campaign grows, a party organiser claimed.

The Green Party also vowed to help feed the campaigners through the winter if the protest against the £92 million bypass went the distance.

Up to 50 environmentalists took to the trees of Rettendon last week in preparation for the September start on the nine-mile four-lane stretch of concrete.

They have vowed to stay there until the scheme is scrapped.

Green Party members have visited the site to offer moral support and said backing for the protest was growing.

Councillor James Abbott, Green Party member for Rivenhall and Silver End, said: "This could become very considerable. As soon as a protest gains coverage it grows in size and the more people that will go there.

"There are special circumstances about this road that has all the characteristics of previous campaigns that have attracted public interest.

"It's privately funded and it's destroying hundreds of acres of countryside and woodland.

"There are a lot more people concerned about the impact of the road but they have not been heard yet." About the new link

The dual carriageway will link the A12 in Chelmsford with the A127 between Basildon and Southend.

Although touted as a bypass by Essex County Council, the Green Party claims the road will become a motorway.

Mr Abbott said: "We are not against the concept of a bypass but this scheme is not a bypass. It could be widened to six lanes - a motorway in all but name.

"It will generate a huge increase in traffic volumes along the route corridor."

The party claims the protest could stop or delay the scheme long enough for other alternatives to be considered.

Mr Abbott said: "Successive governments have backed down on road development because people are willing to take these things seriously.

"If it is slowed down if gives breathing space for an alternative in case the Government or county council change their minds.

"In the meantime we will be offering our support to the campaigners through food or whatever."

An Essex County Council spokesman has said it does not own the land and was not in any position to do anything about the protest.

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