'Very sad' west Londoners oppose Heathrow expansion
"I'd need to put my ear defenders on every time I opened the front door," said the 74-year-old, her neat garden dotted with green signs that read "Stop Heathrow Expansion".
Harmondsworth -- about an hour's train ride from central London -- has a quintessential English village feel, with its 12th-century church, grocery store, green and two pubs.
But this 1,500-strong community and the neighbouring hamlet of Longford face an uncertain future after UK finance minister Rachel Reeves announced Wednesday that the government backs a new runway at Heathrow.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer's Labour government hopes extending capacity at Europe's busiest airport will help spur much-needed economic growth for the country.
Previous plans for extending the site have proposed bulldozing several hundred homes across the twin villages, which date back to the Anglo-Saxon period.
"We're quite a close tight-knit community," said Bayley, chair of the Stop Heathrow Expansion group which campaigns against the proposed development.
"A lot of people have been here 50 years plus. Their history, their memories are bound up with the houses they live in.
"You can't reconstruct the community because we would be scattered everywhere," she told AFP, in front of yellow posters in her window that scream "No Third Runway".
While Harmondsworth's streets are quaint and quiet, the same can't always be said for the skies above where planes can regularly be seen and heard descending towards or ascending from Heathrow.
Out walking in the streets was 55-year-old Leon Jennion who has lived in Longford for three decades.
When planes take off and land at Europe's biggest airport by passenger numbers his house shakes and conversations in the garden need to be paused until the aircraft have passed.
- 'Better, not bigger' -
"It's disruptive," said Jennion, who like many people in the area has a job related to the airport.
"You hear plates rattling in your cupboards and various ornaments on shelves, and doors rattling with the vibrations."
He says his home is almost certain to be demolished if the third runway goes ahead and added he would be "very sad" to leave Longford.
But Jennion also hoped Reeves's announcement will finally lead to some certainty after proposals to expand Heathrow have been mooted for the best part of two decades.
"I don't want to be having a threat around me anymore," said the father of a teenage child.
"I just want to be able to go and, not restart my life, but just continue it somewhere decent."
Outside The Five Bells pub, 18-year-old student Fletcher Rodger said he has "mixed feelings" about the plans for runway number three.
"If it provides as much economic growth as the government says it's going to then unfortunately I have to say I don't mind too much.
"There's always winners and there's always losers," he said.
Just steps away, 63-year-old Hylton Garriock wore a red hoodie emblazoned with the words "Stop Heathrow Expansion" as he manned a stand for the eponymous campaign group.
Beside him, draped over a wall, was a cloth mural boasting a giant closeup image of a plane to depict the view that the campaign group says residents will ultimately face.
He stressed that more flights will worsen climate change.
"Keep within the boundaries. Make a better Heathrow, not a bigger Heathrow," Garriock told AFP.
Proposals to expand Heathrow have long been dogged by legal challenges, political opposition and fears over the effect it would have on the environment and noise pollution.
Back at Bayley's house, parts of which date to 16th century, the activist was hopeful the plans will be stopped.
"I don't want to move. I've lived here longer than I've lived anywhere else in my life," she said.
"We haven't lost a campaign yet, and we're not intending to lose this one either."
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About two weeks after the video became public, Palm Beach County Assistant State Attorney Pamela Ford decided not to prosecute the misdemeanor charge against Laynez Ambrocio. 'Upon review of the evidence and contact with the Arresting Officer, the State declines to prosecute. There is insufficient evidence to support a criminal charge,' Ford wrote on Jul. 29. The decision angered the FHP director, who said dismissing the case was a 'miscarriage of justice.' 'I do not think it is going to end up well for that prosecutor,' Kerner said. When asked about Kerner's comments and the prosecutor's decision, a Palm Beach County State Attorney's Office spokesperson said that the office had not dismissed the charges, it had declined to prosecute, and referred the Herald to the court filing. To date, the reason for the traffic stop remains murky. State officials say the stop was to conduct a 'commercial vehicle inspection.' A federal record reviewed by the Herald/Times says troopers stopped the truck for a 'traffic violation.' In an interview, Laynez Ambrocio said the trooper did not give them a reason for pulling them over. The dash camera footage starts with FHP trooper Steve Julien turning around and positioning himself in the middle of the highway, where he waits as the truck approaches and stops in front of him. From the moment the traffic stop started, Laynez Ambrocio said felt targeted for the color of his skin. 'They're abusing their power, and racially profiling every Hispanic they see. They're not going after criminals, they're going after landscapers and roofers,' Laynez Ambrocio told the Herald. The officers' conduct may have violated the agencies' own use of force policies. Both FHP and Customs have policies banning chokeholds or vascular neck restraints unless 'deadly force' is warranted. In the footage, a Border Patrol agent is shown holding one man with his forearm across a man's neck – and later, an FHP officer restrains the man who is tased, grabbing him around the neck area while the man is doubled down. Neither CBP nor FHP commented on the officers' use of neck restraints. According to the Customs policy manual, an agent may use a taser on a person actively resisting who could injure themselves or someone else – but not on people adjacent to traffic. The tasing took place in the middle of a three-lane highway. 'Law enforcement is facing a surge in assaults while doing their jobs—enforcing the law,' the Customs spokesperson said in a statement. 'Make no mistake, if you lay a hand on a law enforcement officer, you will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.' The video does not appear to show an assault on an officer. Customs did not respond when asked to provide more information about the alleged assault on an agent. FHP declined to comment on the troopers' conduct on the video, or if it was under review. In Laynez Ambrocio's case, FHP maintained that the arrest was part of a 'lawful federal and state investigation.' As he gets ready for his senior year to start, Laynez Ambrocio said he is traumatized after the arrest. He cannot bring himself to return to his landscaping job, leaving his mother and younger brothers without his income to help. When he considers going back to work, he thinks of the patrol cars. 'They're still out there,' he said. 'Waiting.'
