Britain's original 'eco-warrior' was back campaigning again after nearly a decade out the limelight.

The veteran activist known as 'Swampy' - real name Daniel Hooper - began his third day camped 30ft up a tree in a protest against the planned felling of woodland in Aylesbury.

READ MORE: Veteran campaigner Swampy joins sit-in HS2 protest - and has 'no intention' of moving

Swampy first found fame in the 90s after sleeping underground for a week to halt road tunnelling work.

Today he joined an HS2 rebellion group which has been holding out against eviction from woodland marked out for clearance for the controversial high speed rail line.

Swampy, 47, is one of ten people occupying a large treehouse structure, nicknamed The Beancan, up a single tree approximately 30 foot tall, in Jones' Hill Wood in Aylesbury, Bucks.

Dad-of-four Swampy joined the protestors at the start of this week.

READ MORE: Pedestrian in dark clothes 'was hit by two cars as he walked in the middle of the road at night'

He has remained firmly up the tree as the HS2 National Eviction Team have removed similar treehouse structures from the treetops around them.

The woodland is one of 20 sites that have been identified as targets for clearance and ground works by HS2 from October 1st, with two-thirds of the 4.5-acre site due to be dug up.

Swampy has remained tight-lipped about his part in the HS2 rebellion protest.

But protestor Mark Keir, 59, who is one of 30 people camped on the ground in the woodland, said: "His being up the tree is saying all that it needs to say.

"Everybody knows he is up there - and it's a great endorsement for us, because it's getting our campaign a lot of attention.

"It's been bringing lots of people down here, which really gives us a platform to spread our message as to why we are here.

"He is very welcome here."

Mark, who has been live-streaming from the site, added: "We're all feeling really good and really strong.

"We have lots of people here, both in the tree and on the ground, who every bit as much energy and as much skill for this cause as Swampy does.

"Ultimately, we just need to stop this thing, or slow it down so much that people will start really hearing what it is all about.

"We know that HS2 have none of the licences they need to work here.

"It's such a biodiverse piece of land, it's so beautiful here.

"They do not have the bat licence they need, or the dormouse licence, or anything. We're hoping that we can try and stop this on those grounds.

"We've had people who have been removed from the tree and taken to a cell - and then come straight back here after being released. We will stay here as long as it takes."

Eleven protestors have so far been arrested at the ancient woodland site over the last four days.

Swampy first hit the headlines in 1996, when he spent seven days and seven nights living in a tunnel dug by campaigners to stop the £50 million A30 dual carriageway link road in Devon.

He briefly re-emerged last year to join an Extinction Rebellion protest in Pembrokeshire, Wales, where he obstructed access to an oil refinery by attaching himself to a concrete block.

Hooper pleaded guilty at Haverfordwest magistrates' court in October 2019 to wilfully obstructing free passage along a highway and was fined £40, with a surcharge of £32 and £85 in costs.

And now it seems he has roped his son into his old tricks - and the pair have no intention of being budged.