Protesters opposing an application which would allow an oil company to drill at Leith Hill made their concerns over the potential environmental risks clear to the Environment Agency (EA) at a public consultation event.
Dorking Halls was used to stage a drop-in event on Thursday (March 15) as part of a public consultation by the EA before it makes a decision on whether to grant a bespoke environmental permit to Europa Oil and Gas for the site at Leith Hill.
Europa wants to begin exploratory work but protesters argue that the method the company intends to use to search for oil, known as 'acidisation', would be disastrous for the environment.
However the EA says, if Europa does get permission to go ahead with it, the company would have to abide by EA guidelines, designed to protect the environment.
Leith Hill protests
David Smythe, a professor of geophysics who gave a lecture at the drop-in event, said: "We must get out of burning fossil fuels.
"I used to work in the oil industry and after a little while I realised I should not be supporting the exploration of an industry that inherently harms the environment.
"The geology under Leith Hill is very complex and Europa aren't on top of it. The Environment Agency haven't asked enough questions to make sure they are on top of it."
Opponents to the drilling claim acidisation damages the environment without any guarantee of finding oil, however the EA said it considers the potential positives to outweigh any risk.
Will Travers OBE, president of Born Free, an international wildlife charity, said: "This isn't [an] oil well, it's an oil speculation.
"How this can fit into the government policy of significant strategic importance being needed for it to be done on an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty is beyond me.
"The only access to the hill is up a sunken lane. Regardless of whether they find oil or not, the damage to the lane will be irreparable."
He added: "I was invited to celebrate 60 years of the Surrey Hills in the House of Commons and I declined because I can't support anyone who can allow this irreparable damage to take place."
A petition set up to fight the plan to drill at Leith Hill now has over 102,000 signatures and was handed to the EA at the event by James Bolam MBE, a British actor famous for starring in The Likely Lads.
The petition claims that a considerable amount of damage to the area's water supplies will occur if the drilling is allowed because it will affect a number of aquifers that serve the South East with its water supply.
Also noted is that, in the acidisation process, radioactive materials from the Jurassic period will be unearthed.
But an EA spokesman said at the event: "These sites have to run by the strictest regulations which offers almost no chance of anything going wrong.
"We visit these sites regularly to make sure they are up to scratch and aren't creating any dangers to public health.
"With the unearthing of radioactive materials, the process to turn the dangerous gas into a solid is so heavily monitored there is almost no potential for risk.
"There's no room for any of these companies to cut corners because the potential dangers are too high.
"In a situation like this the positives of what the drilling can produce, we would say, outweigh the chance of any risk."
Sue Jameson, James Bolam's wife, who was also at the drop-in, said: "Asking an oil company to self-regulate their processes is like asking a young boy to mark his own test exam."
Bradley Burgess, a Dorking resident who attended, added: "This is a sanctuary, people come here to get away from the fumes and get away from the traffic.
"We have a human right to fresh air and clean oxygen."
The public consultation runs until March 29. To take part visit https://consult.environment-agency.gov.uk/psc/rh6-6hn-europa-oil-and-gas-limited/
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