UK shale gas exploration company Cuadrilla has received the green light to test oil extraction in Balcombe, the West Sussex village that saw major anti-fracking protests in 2013.

At a planning committee meeting adjourned at one point due to disruption, the West Sussex county council approved the company's application to undertake tests to see how fast oil would flow at a site on the outskirts of the village.

Cuadrilla submitted a planning application in January for an oil flow test at the well drilled last year. The company has said, however, it will not use hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, to release shale gas at the Balcombe site.