In reply to Anne Dransfield’s letter (November 30) I understand why some people are opposed to fracking but, as so often is the case, I suspect this fear is brought about by misinformation.

People have been objecting to new discoveries and inventions since time began. If we had always given in to these objections we would still be living in caves.

Whilst shale gas has the potential to offer enormous benefits, it is understandable that many people have questions over both its extraction and production. In order to extract the natural gas from shale rock, a combination of horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing is used.

Both of these technologies have been used in Britain and around the world for decades without incident.

The following is an extract from the igas website:

“Hydraulic fracturing, or ‘fracking’ as it has now become known, is not a new technology; it was actually invented in 1947, and has been a standard practice used for much of the world’s energy extraction, including in the North Sea.

"Over this time, it has become established as a proven, safe and well-regulated process.

"Of the 2,000 conventional wells drilled onshore in the UK since the Second World War, around 200 of these have used fracking without incident.

“Fracking works by injecting a mixture of water and sands with a small amount of common household chemicals into shale rock under very high pressure.

"This causes the rock to fracture, releasing the oil and gas trapped inside, which is then pumped to the surface alongside the waste fracking fluid.”

I would urge people to give fracking a chance.

Tony Taylor, Grassholme, Woodthorpe

It's time for a UK ban

London Mayor Sadiq Khan is moving to ban fracking in London on the basis that extracting shale gas represents a ‘toxic health risk’.

Khan said there was ‘absolutely no place for fracking in London’ and applications must be refused. “The harmful, negative impact of the use of fossil fuels on the environment and on the air we breathe is well known,”

he added. “We must instead focus our resources on developing technologies for the efficient extraction of clean, renewable forms of energy.”

Furthermore Conservative MP James Heappy, who was recently appointed chair of an internal policy committee on energy, said: “If we can fill the gap in revenues through the North Sea, and renewables and clean tech are developing so quickly that gas as a bridge fuel is less important, you just start to wonder what the need is [for shale].”

It would appear even the Conservative Party are now questioning the need for fracking in England.

So with London now joining Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland in turning their back on this risky industry and members of the Conservative Party increasingly speaking out against fracking surely now is the time for a UK wide ban?

Russell Scott, Cropton, Ryedale, North Yorkshire