Wallaby David Pocock arrested after chaining himself to coal digger

Wallabies player David Pocock has been arrested by police after chaining himself to mining equipment in a protest against a new coal mine at Maules Creek in New South Wales.

Pocock, an openside flanker for the Wallabies and a former team captain, “locked on” to a mining superdigger on Sunday morning in the middle of the site of the new mine alongside more than 30 other people to protest Whitehaven Coal’s new coal mine at Maules Creek.

The injured forward was chained to the digger with seven others.

After 10 hours occupying the superdigger, Pocock and farmer Rick Laird were arrested and taken into custody by Narrabri police, the Leard Forest Alliance said in a statement.

A police media spokeswoman confirmed two arrests at Sunday’s protest but would not confirm their identities.

Shortly before his apparent arrest, Pocock spoke to AAP while still chained to the machine.

“It’s incredibly important that we have conversations about this,” he said.

“In 2014, to put a coal mine in the middle of a state forest just doesn’t seem to make any sense.

“The local people are not only concerned about the effects of this mine on the climate in the future but also how it affects the water table.

“When you’re living around the mine, that’s stuff you have to think about.”

The 26-year-old hasn’t played with the Wallabies since undergoing a knee reconstruction in March.

He said he was participating in a peaceful protest and would stay until someone came to cut him off.

“I would be doing this regardless of what career I had,” he said in a statement.

“It is part of being a human being and taking on the challenges we face as a society.

“It is about giving back and getting the conversation going.”

Local farmers and environmental groups are calling for an immediate halt to construction work on the Maules Creek mine and a full inquiry into how the project was approved by NSW and federal governments.

Whitehaven coal boss Paul Flynn last week hit out at critics of the mine and those leading the blockade, saying their actions were illegal.

“These people are getting in the way of our employees, average people who are just trying to come to work and do their job,” he said.

Production is ramping up at Maules Creek, with the first coal due to leave in January.The coal mine, which is due to ship its first coal in March 2015, has sparked a significant community backlash over environmental concerns about the development, with residents staging ongoing protests.

Pocock’s wife Emma Pocock has already been arrested at the protest, and tweeted as she was removed by police.