SO it's goodbye to Crusty, Scratchy, Dopehead and their assorted entourage of lentil eaters, tree-huggers and soap-dodgers.

Yes, dear reader, the eco demo at Drax power station finally ended on Monday when the last of the protesters packed up their compost lavatories and headed home, where presumably this week's giro lay waiting on the doormat.

What an appalling waste of time and public money. Coppers on street corners are as elusive as Tony Blair's New Labour supporters, yet 11 police forces had to commit valuable resources to overseeing this rabble.

This newspaper speculated the other day that the cost to the taxpayer would probably exceed £750,000. My guess is that you're looking at the thick end of £1 million or more. And for what, you might well ask?

I'm the first to acknowledge that the right to protest - provided it is peaceful - is at the heart of any democracy. Much of our legislation has been fashioned through the efforts of campaign groups with properly thought-out tactics.

This, however, was something completely different.

The stated aim of the so-called Camp for Climate Action was to close Drax because of its high levels of carbon emissions.

Now the smoking chimneys that dominate the landscape around Selby are not the prettiest sight, and I can understand anyone raising an eyebrow about their impact on the environment.

But like it or not, this plant produces seven per cent of the nation's electricity. At a time of global uncertainty, and with the country becoming a net energy importer, home-grown fuel supplies must be fully utilised.

Renewable energy, such as from wind farms, is not yet the answer.

Add to that the fact that Drax has polished up its act by investing a considerable sum in modern cleancoal technology and uses biomass produced by local farmers, and it becomes obvious the eco activists picked the wrong target.

They'd have been much better lobbying our political leaders for action on climate change.

But then a stroll through central London, carrying placards and blowing whistles, probably isn't as much of a hoot as a week-long jamboree in the Yorkshire countryside.

Incidentally, did anyone else watching the TV footage spot the protesters' fleet of vans and woodburning camp fires?

Don't they give off harmful CO2 emissions, too? Just a thought, like.

RED-TAPE UPDATE: War veterans planning a remembrance parade in Scarborough face calling it off unless they stump up £300 for public liability insurance. They must also carry out a risk assessment and pay stewards in fluorescent jackets to police the event.

For the past 18 years, the parade has gone ahead without the intervention of the health and safety Hitlers. As Peter Lee-Hale, chairman of the 8th Destroyer Associations, says: "What trouble do they think an 80-year-old ex-sailor is going to cause"?

Good job they weren't asked to carry out a risk assessment on the things they went through for their country all those years ago.