The small village of Shenstone in Staffordshire is everything you imagine it to be – blossom falling from the trees, small winding streets and, apart from a few chirping birds, peaceful.
Except today, the birdsong was broken by the drums and chanting of hundreds at another pro-Palestine protest.
For years, this little hamlet of England has endured consistent disruption because of Palestine Action. Their target? The UAV Engines factory.
The group accuse the company of making parts used in Israeli combat drones.
Residents in Shenstone, Staffordshire, say they have been left feeling intimidated from constant protest
GB News
The company, UAV Engines LTD, says this is “categorically false” and “misinformation propagated by a group attempting to illegally prevent a lawful UK business from operating”. But however much they might deny the claims, month after month, activists have targeted the factory.
Graffiti stains the walls and gate of this business; ‘PAL ACTION WOZ ERE’ is chalked into the pavement. The stamp of seemingly proud activists who want this place shut down.
Police stand guard by the roadside and on the factory roof, security is on the lookout, waiting for what is to descend on them once more.
In the centre of the village, the local shop sets out its stand of fruit and veg, a hairdresser's is mid-blow dry and the butchers is busy selling sausage rolls and steaks. It’s here residents tell GB News of their frustration, confusion and worries about the protests.
Catching their breath from a morning bike ride, Gary, Dan and Sarah are fed up.
“A lot of the people have no connection to Palestine!” says Gary. “It seems to be ‘rent a protest’ and people haven't got a clue what they're talking about.”
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He adds: “They're just jumping on it because it's trendy to fly the Palestinian flag and go along to a little village in England and protest, which is absolutely ludicrous.”
Dan says: “You do feel intimidated, you do feel uncomfortable in your own village.”
For Sarah, there’s worry about the impact on the elderly population in the village and a headache about the march’s end goal.
She tells GB News: “I’m more frustrated and fascinated by what difference they actually think it's going to make? It’s going to cost the taxpayers loads of money in policing this weekend.”
Some residents are too intimidated by the protests to do an interview. One says he’s had physical and verbal threats in the past few weeks, and had his address shared on pro-Palestine groups.
At previous demonstrations, locals have confronted the activists.
In a video filmed last year and shared with GB News, a resident asks a group of Palestine supporters if they have any anti-Hamas signs. One of them replied: “But I am Hamas.”
Huge Palestinian flags are waved by those on the march as the pack of protestors move off and squeeze through the tight streets
GB News
As the start time of the march edges closer, hundreds of protesters arrive in the village. Some come on the train, but many have been bussed in from across the country. Posters for the event advertised free coach travel for activists from Manchester, Liverpool, Batley, and Leeds to name just a few.
There’s a significant police presence throughout the whole of the village aimed at reassuring locals of their safety and ensuring the protest remains peaceful.
Huge Palestinian flags are waved by those on the march as the pack of protestors moves off and squeezes through the tight streets. Chants of ‘from the river to the sea’ and ‘free Palestine’ reverberate off the walls of the houses. The villagers are bystanders in their own homes.
Part of the march becomes a mock funeral procession as six people carry a coffin at the front. A banner reads “SHUT ELBIT DOWN”; other placards accuse the UAV factory of killing children, and some are even more extreme.
As the demonstration arrives at their target location, a police van blocks the road and officers form a human barrier in front of the factory gates. Gazebos set up by other activists on the roadside hand out leaflets and blast Islamic music from their speakers.
The noise intensifies, calls for “intifada” and “free Palestine” ring out across the hills of this village, and three flares in green, red and white fill the air with thick smoke.
Nearby residents stay in their homes waiting for it to pass, many living in frustration and fear, all of them wondering when it will stop.
