NATIONAL GRID today entered Rosalind Craven's land to begin its controversial pylons project.

The company and its contractors were beginning surveying work at Home Farm, Huby, near Easingwold, after winning a High Court injunction last week to prevent the 61-year-old refusing them access.

A National Grid spokesman said a team of surveyors would spend several hours there, after which design work would be carried out over the Christmas period.

He said the company would probably begin building three pylons on the land in January as part of its project to construct a power line across the Vale of York from Teesside to Shipton-by-Beningbrough, near York.

Mrs Craven said she would not repeat her actions of September - which led to last week's High Court case - by blocking National Grid's way today.

But she claimed the company should not be coming on to her land, because she planned to lodge an application at the Court of Appeal in London on Monday for leave to appeal against the High Court judgement. "I think they are acting unlawfully," she said.

However, a spokesman for National Grid said it was acting correctly in the light of the High Court judgement, including the judge's decision to refuse leave to appeal.

Updated: 11:45 Saturday, December 21, 2002