Well, it’s about time someone pitched a tent somewhere and said ‘No’ to spending over £9bn on a corporate feeding trough carefully disguised as a sporting event (and destroying nature in the process).

In Leyton Marsh, East London, up to 200 protesters have pitched up on communal land that’s soon to be transformed into temporary Olympic basketball training facility. The land is Metropolitan Open Land, that is, London land designated for communal, open use (not anymore). Although organisers claim the land will be restored by October 15th, reversing the damage done by dumping several tonnes of concrete onto a natural area might be harder than they imagine. Laying turf doesn’t make an eco-system.

After several concerned persons, including Occupy refugees, camped in the area there have been a succession of peaceful direct actions to stop work at the site. Protesters have been lying underneath lorries blocking their paths to the construction area and locks have been glued and taped. Standing in front of lorries, or shimmying under them, has proved to be a useful tool to the campaigners, affiliated with the longer-running Campaign to Save Leyton Marsh (CSLM) – a 20-person stand-in last week prevented two trucks carrying asphalt getting into the area.

Unfortunately, the more momentum the campaign gains, the more repression beckons. The Olympic Delivery Authority have reached into their never-ending, tax-funded coffers to criminalise dissenters, through a legal injunction that would make any lorry blockers liable for £335,000 in costs. Who knew asphalt was so expensive? The other is a claim for possession by the Lea Valley Regional Park Authority. Oh, and the Met’s anti-terror squad have been briefed about the occupation.

Security has also been stepped up at other venues amid fears that the Olympic site itself ‘could’ become a focus for future protests. After all, nothing can be permitted to piss on the greatest patriotic party of the year.