Protesters sleep on coal company lawn

Five Save Happy Valley Coalition members camped on the front lawn of state-owned coal miner Solid Energy's Christchurch headquarters last night. Around 30 protesters helped set up a pup tent on the lawn at 2.00pm yesterday, as a response to the removal of a long-term occupation camp on the site of a proposed West Coast coal mine.

"It certainly wasn't as peaceful as a night in Happy Valley," says Front Lawn Protester Anna-Clair Hunter. "We heard cars and trucks instead of weka and kiwi."

Media are invited to a community breakfast at the Front Lawn site from 7.30-8.30am on Friday morning.

The group has spent the past five years protesting the plans of the state-owned company to destroy a pristine area north of Westport, home to 13 endangered species including /roroa/, great spotted kiwi.