THE GOVERNMENT'S High Court loss over over Brexit should give hope to North Yorkshire's anti-fracking campaigners, it has been claimed.

Judges yesterday went against the Government's position on Brexit, insisting that MPs should have a vote over Article 50, and only Parliament has the power to trigger Britain's EU exit procedure.

On a visit to York yesterday, Green party co-leader Jonathan Bartley said that blow for the Government should offer hope to anti-fracking campaigners.

A fracking site in Kirby Misperton was given the go ahead by North Yorkshire County Council earlier this year, but the decision faces a judicial review on November 22 and 23.

Mr Bartley said: "Clearly what is happening here isn't just about the local area but it is a national issue. If the fight is lost here, then the government and the vested interests behind fracking will have the go ahead to roll it out across the country.

He added: "We have just in the last few hours seen a monumental decision over Article 50, which is of constitutional significance.

"The courts may well rule against [the fracking decision] and when you look at the flawed evidence around climate change and the evidence around the recklessness with which that decision was made over the bond - I think there's ample grounds.

"I would not be surprised to see the courts ruling in favour of local communities."

Mr Bartley went on to accuse North Yorkshire County Council of "not doing its job properly" by giving permission for Third Energy's test site at Kirby Misperton, in the face of thousands of objections from local residents.

He said: "Either you believe democracy or you do not.

"The Government is trying bribe local communities into taking it [fracking] because they know that it is not good in the long run."

He was in York to talk to frack free campaigners, and to visit the Foss Barrier as upgrade work continues after the December floods.

While York has been given millions of pounds for improved flood defences, Mr Bartley local authorities and decision makers need to make sure the upstream preventative work is not ignored in favour of quick-fix work in the city centre.

"What's clear is there does need to be some resilience further up to stop the water getting down there in the first place," he said.

"The elephant in the room is climate change, which is contributing to flooding and is only going to get worse.

"We have got a council which has approved fracking, which is doing nothing to meet our climate change commitments, and the idea that the council has no responsibility for what's happening with climate change is nonsense."